Forgotten Past
by Kiara-Zzyopen
Summary: COMPLETE. HPBtVS. Dawn Summers is the Key, the Monks made her that but they needed a vessel to contain it. Now Dawn is starting to remember the vessel's life and she has to find out who she really is to survive. Please R
1. One Sister Coming Right Up!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! New Year, new story!

**DISCLAIMER**: Listen up and Listen good, because I'm only saying this once! Harry Potter stuff, not mine. Buffy stuff, not mine.

**SUMMARY: **HP/BtVS. Dawn Summers is the Key, the Monks made her that; but they needed a vessel to contain it. Now Dawn is starting to remember the vessel's life and she has to find out who she really is to survive.

**RATING**: PG-13 for the slightest bit of language and to be on the safe side.

**A/N:** The fight with Glory is not important in this fic nor is the future for BtVS. Everything happened as the series, unless otherwise stated. This chapter jumps around season 5, basically to provide a background.

More explanations will come later, but if I explained them now, then it would ruin the fun!

I wasn't meant to start another story; I was meant to finish 'memories' before I got started on a new one! But oh well! I think we're looking at about fifteen chapters here, maybe a few more, maybe a few less but it's gonna be faster moving at the beginning while I get things started and yes it will get more interesting, I promise!

_A Special Thanks to Matt who's betaing this story for me._

**FORGOTTEN PAST by Kiara**

**PROLOGUE: ONE SISTER, COMING RIGHT UP!**

_TEN YEARS EARLIER_

The silence was disturbed. Two monks were racing down the usually quiet corridor, throwing terrified glances behind them to see if it was gaining on them. It wasn't…yet.

One of the monks fell, scattering religious items over the stone floor. He hurriedly gathered the candles and incense and was dragged to his feet by his companion. The duo continued their flight down the candlelit hallway until they reached their goal.

The monks careened through a set of massive wooden doors and slammed them shut behind them. They slid a beam the size of a tree trunk across the entrance, but that wouldn't hold it for long.

As the beam slid home, one of the monks called fearfully to another seated in the centre of the room. "It's coming! It's going to kill us!"

"Our lives aren't important. We have to protect the Key." He replied in Czech, their native language.

The two monks raced to the center of the great room and joined the third senior member of their order. They knelt on the floor before the Senior Monk, around several lit candles and magic talismans. And, most importantly, an ordinary looking terracotta urn which was the current residence of the Key. Over in the corner was another ring of candles that were surrounding a lumpy object that was covered by a white sheet.

"The vessel; is it ready?" One of the monks said, with an anxious look over at the sheet.

The senior monk nodded. "It was been found worthy. We found a female who has enough magical potential to hold the power- the ritual will change the vessels appearance so that it best suits the need."

The two monks who had just entered placed their candles into the circle and one quickly dripped a circle of incense around them.

"We're ready. Help me perform the ritual." The senior monk ordered.

All three monks extended their arms and begin chanting. As they spoke the ancient words, a tremendous crash echoed through the monastery and the massive wooden door trembled in its frame.

"Concentrate. Concentrate." The senior monk admonished, noticing his juniors cast fearful looks over towards the doorway.

They continued chanting. It was working, but would it be in time? A breeze sprung up in the chamber, but the relentless pounding on the door continued causing the crossbeam to splinter.

Suddenly a bright flash of light leapt from the center of the room. The monks looked around relieved, but that turned to fear as the door finally gave way and shattered causing the candles to blow out and leaving the room in darkness.

_SIX MONTHS LATER_

"Where did he learn to write so bloody small, from a fruit fly?" Spike said as he and Dawn read the watchers diary in front of them.

"Wait, here's something. Uh, Tarnis, 12th century. One of the founders of the monks of the order of Dagon. Their sole purpose appears to have been as protectors of the key."

"Brown-robe types are always protecting something. It's the only way they can justify giving up girls." Spike scoffed. He got up and looked around while Dawn clucked her tongue- robes; why did they sound so familiar? Spike spotted Olaf's troll hammer and tried to pick it up. It fell to the floor with a clang. He shrugged, trying to preserve the tatters of his macho image. "Didn't go with my stuff anyway."

"The key is not directly described in any known literature, but all research indicates an energy matrix vibrating at a dimensional frequency beyond normal human perception. Only those outside reality can see the key's true nature." Dawn read. "Outside reality, what's that mean?"

"Mm. Second-sight blokes, mostly." Spike answered, putting out his cigarette on one of the items on the shelves. "Or even just your run-of-the-mill lunatics." Spike went back over to Dawn. "What else does it say about this key? Is it made out of gold? Maybe we can hock it, split the take."

"Um, the key is also susceptible to necromanced animal detection, particularly those of canine or serpent construct."

Spike reached over and grabbed the book from Dawn. "The monks possessed the ability to transform energy, bend reality. Blah, blah, blah. Good lord, Giles writes as dull as he talks, doesn't he? But the Council has suggested to us that they were interrupted… presumably by Glory... They obviously did manage to accomplish the taste. . . " Spike squinted at the book and corrected himself "accomplish the task. They had to be certain the Slayer would protect it with her life. So they sent the key to her in human form. In the form of a sister".

Spike frowned and looked at Dawn. "Huh! I guess that's you, Niblet."

Dawn stared ahead in shock. If she wasn't Dawn Summers, then who was she?

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"Not even a card, huh?" Willow was saying sympathetically.

"I wasn't really expecting one. No contact with civilians. There's probably a code name for it. You know, like radio silence, it's greeting card silence."

"Sorry."

"Maybe it's time to start a new tradition. Birthdays without boyfriends. It could be just as much fun." Buffy said with a false cheerfulness.

"Preaching to the choir here, baby." Willow said, smiling at Tara.

"Yeah, some of my best—" Tara trailed off as she saw something across the room. "Oh- oh my god."

Buffy turned to look and immediately got up.

"Is this blood?" Dawn asked dazed, looking down at the blood trickling down her arm, the knife still in her hand.

"Dawn!" Joyce turned to look and rushed over to Dawn.

"What did you do?!" Buffy asked also coming over.

"This is blood, isn't it? It can't be me. I'm not a key. I'm not a thing." Dawn said to Buffy's shocked face.

"Oh, sweetie, no. Wha-what is this all about?"

"What am I? Who am I? Am I real? Am I anything?" Dawn began to cry and Joyce hugged her while Buffy watched grimly.

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"Why didn't you tell me?" Dawn asked softly. The party guests had been sent away and now the three Summers girls were sitting in Dawn's room.

"We were going to. I just. . . " Buffy trailed off as Dawn gave her an angry look.

"We thought it would be better if we waited until you were older." Joyce said soothingly.

"How old am I now?"

"You're fourteen, sweetheart, you know that."

"No. The monks. When did. . . when did they. . . " Dawn trailed off and looked to Buffy for an answer.

"Six months ago." Buffy admitted after a pause.

"I've only been alive for six months, huh?"

"Honey, you've been alive a lot longer than that to us." Joyce assured her.

"You don't know that! You don't know anything. I'm, I'm just a key, right? Everything about me is made up." Dawn was starting to get angry.

Buffy sat down next to Dawn. "Dawn... Mom and I know what we feel. I know I care about you. I know that I worry about you—"

"You worry about me because you have to. I'm your job. Protect the key, right?" Dawn said a bit spitefully.

"I worry because my sister is cutting herself!"

"Yeah? How do you know? Maybe this is just another fake memory from my fake family."

"Sweetheart—"

"You guys don't need me; you might as well just give me over to Voldemort!"

"Dawn, I- wait, who's Voldemort?" Buffy asked confused.

"Voldemort?" Dawn felt the edges of a memory receding. "I- what?"

"You said that we might as well give you to Voldemort. It's Glory who's after the key, who's Voldemort?"

"I don't know. I said Glory, I meant Glory."

"Dawn, we're not going to give you over to Glory or anyone; you're my sister and-"

"Get out." Dawn was tired of this.

"Dawn-"

"Get out, get out, get out!" Dawn's voice rose to a shriek and Joyce and Buffy obeyed her.

Dawn lay down on the bed and let the tears fall. She reached out and grabbed the bunny that was her equivalent to Mr. Gordo and strictly there for decorating purposes only and held it to her chest.

Finally she fell into a fitful sleep, full of dreams that she would not remember in the morning. Dreams featuring a red haired stranger and young boy with a mop of unruly black hair.

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"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" Buffy questioned worriedly.

"Why do you care?"

"Because I love you. You're my sister."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are." She lifted Dawn's arm, her arm and hand still bloody. "Look, its blood. It's Summers' blood."

Buffy pressed her hand against the wound on her shoulder from the recent fight with Glory, wincing a little. She clasped her bloody hand in Dawn's bloody hand.

"It's just like mine. It doesn't matter where you came from, or, or how you got here. You are my sister." Buffy continued after a pause. "There's no way you could annoy me so much if you weren't.

Dawn hugged her sister tightly. "I was so scared."

"Me too."

Buffy pulled Dawn to her feet. "Come on."

"Wait. Ben. He was here, he was trying to help me. He. . . I. . . I think he might have left before Glory came.. . I can't, I can't remember." Dawn babbled, making no sense to those around her.

Buffy took her hand again. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. Next time we see him, we'll thank him. I have to get you back home though. Mom's freaking out."

Dawn's eyed widened. "Oh Merlin. Is she mad about the whole fire thing?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows at Dawn's language, but decided that it was probably 'middle school slang' "I think you sorta have a get-out-of-jail-free card on account of big love and trauma."

"Really? Okay. Good."

Dawn continued after a minute. "You think she'd raise my allowance?"

"Don't push it."

* * *

_CURRENT DAY_

"No, no, no." Dawn Summers tossed and turned in her sleep. She jerked in the bed, mumbling something incomprehensible.

"You think you know who you are, what's to come…you've only just begun." Tara's voice echoed in her unconsciousness. It was always Tara, never anyone else. She'd died over eight years ago, but it was always Tara- why was it Tara?

Dawn shot up in her bed drenched in sweat and feeling a bit ridiculous- she was twenty four years old and still having nightmares, and she wasn't even living on the hellmouth anymore! As always, she calmed herself down and tried desperately to remember the dream- living with Buffy had taught her never to discount a dream no matter how weird it sounded.

"Come on, come on!" Dawn muttered, her eyes still closed as the final images and sounds of the dream faded. She pushed herself harder to remember.

But it was no use; she couldn't remember any more than usual, and even those few facts left her very confused and with lots of questions that needed answering.

Problem was no one knew the answers. She'd asked Giles first, but he scratched his head, did a bit of research and then put it down to recurring nightmares. He didn't think that he could be researching the wrong community, that there could be a whole other world that's full of answers, oh no; that was just ridiculous.

Willow and Xander had done the same as Giles… well Willow had, Xander had just watched. Buffy had freaked out at first; Dawn was the 'normal' sister, she wasn't supposed to have visions but now, just like everybody else, her big sister thought she was going crazy. Even her mom had thought she was losing it, the only reason she wasn't shipped off to the nearest shrink ten years ago when the nightmares first started was because both Buffy and Giles were worried it might have something to do with the key.

They had started ten years ago, when she found out about the key and they hadn't stopped since. She didn't tell anyone about her dreams anymore, she didn't like the pitying looks she got; poor Dawnie's afraid of a little nightmare; but they were still there, and her questions still went unanswered.

Questions like what was an Avada Kedavra? Why did she keep seeing green lights? Why were the men wearing black dresses and 'scream' masks?

And who the hell was Harry Potter?

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Do you like it? Sorry about the dullness of the chapter- they will get more interesting and longer.

If you think you know who the vessel is, you're probably right! But I don't think I've given you any clues as to who it might be; accept that she's a she from HP. If anyone guesses right, they get _cookies and ice cream!_

_Please review!!!!_


	2. Deja Vu

**Thanks to (most of) the reviewers:**

JenH: Thank you for the review. You should write your story, I'd read it!

Caprice-Ann Hedican-Kocur: An unusual guess, but you'll find out in a couple of chapters!

LovesBitch2: Thanks for the interest. People will know who she is for definite by chapter 5 at the latest.

Charmed-angel4: Now there's something I hadn't thought of- it's amazing how much thought you put into this :) Can we say that she didn't know? Just block those few lines out of our heads for this story? Would that work?

Cataclysmic: Now it has two chapters! Hooray! You've bet your ice cream on Hermione? Well I tell you…in a few chapters evil grin

Akalea: Thanks for reading and reviewing

Juzblu: One quick update just for you. grin Keep reviewing!

Allen Pitt: She will keep her memories, but I'm still working on the appearance thing. Thanks for your interest.

Aynot: I have one thing to say: Thanks for the feedback :)

W1cked angel: Was that a hint? If so, sorry to say that this isn't really a pairing fic. I'll see if I can squeeze in a couple of scenes just for you though!

Anne: Thank you. I hope you like this chapter.

Tap dancing willow: First off, really cool pen name :) Secondly, the vessel's identity will be shown in the next few chapters (I liked your guesses, very original)

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**At this point I feel that I ought to say that** **while constructive criticism is appreciated and welcomed, _outright flames are not_**. For example:

jesus christ is anyone else getting tired off these freaking harry pothead, buffy crossovers? … somone ban these mindless pityfull exuses for fanfics. thy are taking up so much fing room its like trying to find a god dam needle in a fing haystack when looking for good x-overs...

Reviews like this will be ignored completely. Not only is the spelling and grammar terrible (even worse than mine!) but what is the point? Is anyone forcing people to read this? No. So why read it if you're not going to like it? If that's all you have to say then don't bother. To all the other reviewers who reviewed NICELY, thank you- it's greatly appreciated. That's my rant over, on with the story…

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**A/N:** Everything has happened as in the TV series or as in the books (what little it tells you anyway). Imagine this chapter, and the end of the last one. Happen in the current day. I'm not so good with futuristic fics.

The Harry Potter-verse will play a bigger part either starting next chapter or the one after

_Woohoo for Matt! He's the beta and I couldn't do it without him!_

**CHAPTER TWO: DÈJA VU**

"Good Morning Dawn!" Giles said crisply as the girl in question stumbled down the stairs; slayer grace she had not.

"Umhff" Dawn grunted in reply. Why did mornings have to happen so early? Especially when one's sleep had been plagued by nightmares. Even when she had ten minutes of comfortable sleep, those bloody slayers would come home from their patrol and wake her up. It was a no-win situation.

Giles grinned. "Sleep well?"

Dawn glared at him in reply. "Damn slayers woke me up again last night."

"Ah. Yes, well that is a problem, but Dawn, you know how slayers get when they've been, well, slaying."

"Hungry and Horny?" Dawn questioned innocently.

"Excitable." Giles replied irritably as he reached up to clean his glasses, until he realised that they weren't there anymore. It had been over six years since he had switched to contacts, but old habits die hard. He noticed Dawn smirking at him knowledgably. "Oh shut up."

Dawn's grin widened. She'd been staying at the Slaying Centre for just over a year, ever since she'd travelled to England in a bid to become more independent and get out of Buffy's shadow and realised just how expensive it was to be independent. Giles had taken her in gladly; happy to have a part of his family staying with him amongst the slaying teens that he was training.

Ever since the fight with the First, there had been a massive lack of watchers for three main reasons: the first, obviously, being the old council being blown skywards; the second was due to the long training process that all watchers had to go through before they could be trusted with a slayer (eight years); and third being that there would never have been enough watchers to deal with all the slayers that were activated at any one time, even before almost a hundred exploded.

Now, seven years later, each two trained slayers had their own watcher or, in a worse case scenario and only with the more experienced slayers, they had a watcher between three. That meant thirty-seven trained watchers were on hellmouths or other supernatural hot-spots leaving just eleven others and several trainees for the one-hundred-and-twenty-odd untrained slayers situated in five so called slaying centres around the world.

Each 'slaying centre', like the one Giles managed in England, was to have its own fully trained watcher, but that was still short so the former librarian was more than happy to have Dawn to help him, she was probably more use than the trainees who were destined to become watchers anyway.

He knew that it was a temporary arrangement, only until Dawn could scrape enough cash together to pay off her student loans and find a place of her own, but he couldn't help but hope that that would take a while, and not just to give upcoming watchers time to be trained, he loved having her company; not that he'd admit that to her.

"So, Dawn, what are you doing today?" Giles asked sipping his tea.

Dawn sighed. "Work."

Giles gave her a sympathetic look. Having been fired spectacularly by her last job for killing a colleague and having no other experience, Dawn had been forced to swallow her pride and accept Angel's offer of a job at the English branch of Wolfram and Hart. They wouldn't have given her a job either if not for Angel; she even managed to skip a few places up the career ladder thanks to the CEO of the LA branch.

She supposed that she were lucky, no-one else would employ her. It didn't seem to matter that she had no experience because she was fresh out of college when she got her first job and had worked there for nearly two years and that no murder charges had been pressed against her because the 'person' she killed seemingly didn't exist (due to him being a demon).

It also meant that, due to the slaying centre being in a small town in Surrey, and Wolfram and Hart being in the middle of the Greater London region, Dawn had to take a portal to work, which opened in the fireplace of all places! It was lucky she worked in the mystical division of the company, although the whole place was pretty mystical, so they probably would've given her that access even if she worked in accounting.

"I still can't see why I can't be a watcher like you." Dawn grumbled.

"We've been through this. Watchers are chosen, just like slayers are. They have special skills bred in them from birth."

Dawn frowned at the watcher. "Like the ability to pass out every fight?"

"I'll have you know that I have not passed out since-"

"Yesterday." Dawn interrupted. "The falrok demon and then last week it was that nest of vamps, the chaos demon and the gilet demon twice. Need I go on?"

"Actually, I beg you to stop. You have to find your own destiny." He said firmly.

Dawn sighed in annoyance. Why was she the only one without a destiny? She, apparently, had no future marked out in this world, yet she'd seen too much to leave it- yet another no-win situation. She fished a muffin out the bread bin and ate it in silence while Giles continued to read the paper.

Dawn stood and straitened her grey, sensible skirt and slipped into her uncomfortable black shoes. "How do I look?"

"Fine." Giles responded automatically, not even bothering to look up from the newspaper he was reading.

Dawn rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. "I might come patrolling with you guys tonight; I have a feeling that I'll have some 'issues' to work through."

Giles nodded and Dawn headed to the fireplace. He had learned long ago to let Dawn patrol. Despite her klutziness in everyday life, she was a very good fighter, better than she should be without superpowers; but that probably had something to do with her being Buffy's sister. She was much older than Xander and Willow were when they started killing things that go bump in the night, besides she was an adult and if she wanted to patrol there was nothing Giles could do to stop her, as she'd told him…repeatedly.

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"Hello, Wolfram and Hart offices, mystical division, how may I help you?" Dawn said for the hundredth time that day in a false cheery voice.

"Yes…yes… no that will be fine Mr…? Mr. Dumbledore. Right… three thirty it is then… yes… you too…goodbye!"

Dawn got out the big blue diary that she recorded all the appointments in and scrawled a note: Dumbledore, 3:30, re. Fudge, before turning to her computer to record the same. Dumbledore, Dumbledore…where had she heard that name before?

Dawn did a swift search of the database. Nope, not a client. She was sure she recognised it from somewhere though… Maybe Fudge had mentioned it in between going on about 'you-know-who'. He'd had a bit of a shock when she'd replied that actually she didn't know who, maybe Dumbledore was who he was referring too.

She turned to the big clock on the wall, instantly forgetting the name, yesss! Lunchtime! The best part of the day!

She called over to the other assistant working in the spacious lobby, each of them making life easier for one of the top dogs at Wolfram and Hart. "Tom; I'm going on my lunch, kay?"

He nodded in response, never stopping typing at the breakneck speed- when Mr. Hart Jr. (and several more Jr.'s) wanted something; it was Tom's job to make sure he got it a.s.a.p.

Dawn practically skipped down the stairs, ignoring the glares she got from other workers for skipping so far up the ladder. But Dawn didn't see why they were jealous; she answered phones just like they did for crissakes! Okay, so she answered them for the second most important man in the company, but still, a phone was a phone right?

She left the building behind, preferring to spend her hour away from the evil lawyer firm and the twittering idiots that worked there. She walked into Starbucks for 'a little taste of home' and prepared herself for the battle for the comfy chairs, steadily ignoring the niggle in her mind that had bugged her since Mr. Dumbledore's phone call.

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"No…no…no…no…I'm sorry, sir, but we must decline. We have all the double glazing we need. Thank you." Dawn put the phone down firmly and turned around just in time to see a man with a long grey beard and bright purple robes appear in the middle of the marble flooring.

Dawn managed not to jump with surprise like she had when that Fudge guy had done the same the other day, but it still gave her the wiggins, even though Willow teleported places all the time. She eyed the robes curiously. The guy must be a loon- she'd never seen any sane guy wearing a _dress_ before. He didn't look crazy though. He looked friendly; at least he did compared to Fudge who had turned up looking like Quentin Travers in a bowling hat with, if it was humanly possible, extra tweed.

She stole a look at the clock, 3:30 exactly. She beamed as the man approached her smiling kindly; he seemed a lot nicer than that Fudge idiot. "Professor Dumbledore?"

Surprise flitted across the old man's face, he couldn't remember telling her his professor title, but he remembered every student or acquaintance he had met in the last ninety four years. There was something familiar about her eyes though…

Dawn noticed the professor staring at her oddly. "Professor Dumbledore? Mr. Jenkins is waiting for you."

"Ah, yes, of course my dear. It's this way isn't it?" He smiled, a playful twinkle appearing in his eye.

"Yes, I'll take you." That twinkle seemed so familiar to Dawn. "This may sound odd, but have we met?"

That settled things in Dumbledore's eyes- he couldn't know her, no-one forgot him, even the Longbottoms recognised him and they didn't even know their own son. "I don't believe so; I've never had dealings with this firm before. Miss..?"

"Summers, Dawn Summers." Dawn smiled sweetly as she knocked on Mr. Jenkins' door. "Sir; Professor Dumbledore is here to see you."

Jenkins nodded. "Send him in in two secs, thanks Dawn."

Dawn smiled as she backed out of the room; she had defiantly got the better deal as to whose assistant she was. Jenkins was nice, to her at least, while Hart was an ass to everyone.

"He'll be ready in a minute, professor." Dawn said flashing him a sunny smile which surprised Dumbledore- he was sure he recognised that smile, but surely she was dead...

"Y-yes. Thank you." Dumbledore stumbled.

His stumbling surprised him. What also surprised him was that he had been surprised twice in no more than two minutes.

It was kinda ironic when you thought about it.

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Across the office Tom slammed down the phone in frustration. He looked over to Dawn who was doing some paperwork. "Hey, Dawn. Where would you take a girl… or a guy in your case I suppose, if you wanted to give her a really good night out?"

"The Leaky Cauldron's always okay." Dawn responded automatically without looking up from her work. A moment later she did though. Where the hell was the Leaky Cauldron? She'd never been there in her life.

"The where? Never mind. I don't want an okay night, I want a great night."

Dawn smirked, pushing all thoughts of the mysterious pub to the back of her mind. "Tom, have you got a date?" His blush gave her the answer. "Aw, that's so sweet! If you want to give her a really good time, I'd have to say La Veno's."

Tom snorted. "La Veno's? They only pay us five fifty an hour, Dawn."

"You said you wanted a great night…but I bet you wouldn't even be able to get a table."

Macho pride stepped in. "Oh yeah? How much?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "A knut."

"Huh?" Tom wasn't the only one confused.

What was a Knut? Why had she said that? "I meant a pound." She clarified, still confused.

"You're on." Tom picked up the phone. Thirty seconds later he put it down again.

"Told you so." Dawn gloated.

"I'd like to see you do better." Tom grumbled.

"Fine; double or quits?" Dawn picked up the phone and redialled the number. "Hello, I was wondering if you had any tables left for tonight...Are you sure? You can probably tell I'm not from around here and I'm going home tomorrow, so…I love your accent by the way…It's just for two little ones…No, we don't mind where the table is…eight o'clock? Perfect! Oh thanks, you're a lifesaver. Thank you, bye." Dawn put down the phone and grinned triumphantly at Tom who glowered back.

"What have you got that I haven't?"

"Well, two quid and a table at La Veno's to start with."

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"We get it!" An agitated slayer protested. "You don't need to explain again!"

Giles silenced her with a glare and she closed her eyes again, looking peaceful.

"Look for your centre; you'll find a ball of light." Giles said in a low voice.

He was teaching the slayers meditation. Dawn stopped by the entrance to the door and watched. She remembered her first attempts at meditation. She did everything Giles asked, and she found a ball of light. But apparently all she'd found was the key and the light was supposed to be white, not green, but Giles never said that before…

One by one the slayers gave up; each watching those around them to see if they'd managed it. The final slayer finally opened her eyes.

"I found a light!" She said excited. "It was red and-"

Giles cut her off. "It has to be a white light. That was probably just the fire from behind your eye lids."

"You never said that before!"

Giles seemed about to say something, but Dawn got in before him. "You'll never get it- It's like advanced algebra; if it makes perfect sense to you and you think you're getting the right answers, then you know you're doing it wrong."

"They'll get it." Giles said, but someone who knew him well could hear the doubt in his voice. Buffy, the most powerful slayer ever, had never mastered this technique so what chance did these 'newbies' have? "We'll try it once more and remember to focus!"

The girls obediently closed their eyes and breathed deeply, each trying to find their centre. Dawn sat down and joined them.

'In…out…in…out.' Dawn said silently to herself. She drifted inside of her mind, like she had before. She pushed deeper until she came across the bright green mist. In her mind she pushed through the mist, but she felt herself being strangled. She gasped for breath as she hurriedly pulled back.

After what seemed like an age she found herself back in the training room…with everyone staring at her.

"The green mist again?" Giles asked softly.

The slayers looked at her oddly. They had all seen her gasping for breath when she was in the trance.

"I tried to get through it, to my centre, but it strangled me."

"What? Could that happen to us?" One of the slayers asked fearfully.

"No." Giles assured them. "Dawn is…" he looked at her lovingly, ignoring the gagging noises from one of the younger slayers; "special. She's just very, very special."

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Dawn watched her lasagne spinning slowly around in the microwave.

"Dawn; what are you doing?" Giles asked stupidly; it was pretty obvious what she was doing.

"Hey Giles, does the name 'Dumbledore' mean anything to you?"

Giles looked surprised. "Where did you hear that name?"

"He came into Wolfram and Hart today, why? Do you know him?"

The microwave pinged and Dawn took out the steaming pasta. She dropped it onto the kitchen worktop as it became to hot to hold and decided it would be best for her too leave it for a while.

"Yes, well no." Giles answered mysteriously.

"Well," Dawn said impatiently when he offered no further information; "which is it?"

"I've heard of him, he kept in close contact with the old council. He quite often visited the place while I was training actually." Giles said with one of his silly grins on his face.

"What's he like?"

Giles looked at her curiously. "Why the interest?"

Dawn shuffled uncomfortably. "I don't know. When he came in, I felt like I ought to know him and I got a really weird vibe off him."

"A demon vibe?"

"I don't know," Dawn admitted; "maybe."

Giles studied her closely for a bit. "All I know is that he had some kind of dealings with the council, fairly secret if I remember correctly. I can look through the old files and see if I can find out anything else if you want."

Dawn squealed and darted forward, capturing his body in a hug. "Thanks you Giles!"

Giles smiled, he'd do anything for her, just like he would for Buffy, Willow or, god forbid, Xander. "Your pasta's getting cold."

Dawn released him with a smile and shoved a spoonful of the still smoking lasagne into her mouth, not bothering to test the temperature.

"OW!"

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The next day, Dawn was sitting at her desk doodling on a piece of paper. She wasn't really looking at what she was doing, but there was a rather large pile of filing to be ignored so Dawn was trying to look like she was doing something important as she scribbled mindlessly on the notepad.

She was yanked out of her daydreams by the phone ringing. "Hello, Wolfram and Har-" The caller cut her off and Dawn blanched as she realised who it was. It was Mr. Hart's youngest daughter, Melanie. Although the little darling was only ten years old, she already had her father's patience and temper. Dawn put on her sweetest voice and began sucking up to the brat. "Oh, hello sweetie, how's your mom?"

"My _Mum's_ just fine." Melanie barked. She hated it when Dawn used the American pronunciation. "Why isn't Tom answering his phone?"

Dawn looked over the lobby to where Tom's desk was. "He's speaking to someone else at the moment, Mel. Do you want me to get your dad?"

Melanie sighed in annoyance. "That would be nice." She said sarcastically as if Dawn was the dumbest person on the planet.

Dawn put the phone down thankfully and transferred the call through to Mr. Hart. She glared at Tom, even though it wasn't really his fault that he'd been arranging an appointment when Melanie Hart had called.

Tom looked up at this point, still on the phone. He saw Dawn glaring at him and frowned. "What?" He mouthed.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Dawn replied quietly.

She hated this dump. Not only was it evil, but she had no friends and got bossed around by ten year olds. The problem was that there weren't many jobs available in London and even less in Surrey, especially for someone with very little experience.

It was at this point that Dawn looked down to her doodle. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She didn't remember drawing that.

The 'that' in question was a picture of a boy on a broomstick. He had untidy hair which stuck out the bottom of a pointed hat. He was wearing a dress and had a long, thin stake in one hand. Dawn looked at the picture; what was with the dress fetish? First the dreams, now this…

The phone rang again and Dawn reached for it, preparing her 'phone voice'. "Hello, Wolfram and Hart offices, mystical division, how may I help you? Oh, hey Giles. What's up?" Dawn tapped her pen against her desk absent mindedly, well aware that across the room Tom was listening in to her side of the conversation- they weren't supposed to have personal phone calls. "Again?" Dawn was saying. "But we only finished one last month! ...Okay…I'll look it up…See ya later."

Dawn turned to her computer and put in some key words- "Avada Kedavra" Crucio magic curse- and hit the 'search' key.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked suspiciously from across the room. "Those files are private, you can't look through them."

"If you already know what I'm doing, why bother asking?" Dawn didn't bother to look up, but she kept scanning down the list of results that the search engine had found.

'The Unforgivable Curses- Avada Kedavra, Cruciaus; Imperious. Formally used by the wizarding community, they now incur a lifetime imprisonment in the…_view_ _more?_ Last Updated: 21.06.1872 82 Relevance'

Dawn read the article and noted down what she believed to be relevant information in her note pad, knowing that the system would notice if she printed it off.

She turned back to the computer screen, searched 'The Dark Lord' and clicked on the first result. To her surprise it was a former client, Mr. Riddle.

She nearly clicked out of it, but stopped when she saw something familiar.

"…one son who went by the name Tom Marvolo Riddle but is now the dark wizard Lord Voldemort or the Dark Lord, He-who-must-not-be-named, you-know-who…"

The rest was about Riddle senior. Dawn went back to the search page and typed in 'Voldemort'. Surprisingly, there was only one result. Dawn looked back to make sure it was spelled right. Voldemort- Vol de mort. She flipped over a new page in her notepad and made a few notes.

'Vol de mort French, fly from death--- immortal? OR Voldemortist Dark wizard who tried to destroy Merlin in mythology?'

She flipped back to her original page on the curses and translated them from their original languages as well:

'Avada Kedavra Aramaic, let it be destroyed.'

'Crucio Latin, torture.'

'Imperium Latin, complete control.'

Dawn clicked on the only result and found herself looking into the eyes of a fairly handsome young boy; Tom Riddle, and he was a totally different person to Voldemort.

There was a brief introduction, outlining his school days and journey to the dark side and then there was a paragraph that made Dawn jump with shock. It was about Harry Potter, the boy who had plagued her dreams for the last decade.

Dawn stared at the screen for nearly an hour. She should know this, what was she forgetting?

"Dawn?" Dawn looked up dazed and saw Mr. Jenkins standing before her. "I'm going home now. If anyone calls for me tell them I've gone home and take a message, okay?"

Dawn nodded dumbly and looked at the clock. Five fifteen already! As soon as her boss had gone she went back to the computer and scribbled as much of the information on Voldemort down as she could.

She'd just finished noting down the last paragraph when it was time to go. It was then Dawn remembered the stack of paperwork still sitting on her desk. Oops! Dawn gathered her bags quickly and rushed out her office before Tom could notice.

Tom looked up to see Dawn scurrying out of the room and started to call out to her. "Dawn, you haven't done the… all righty then."

Dawn heard Tom calling after her, but all she could think was that she had to get home. She headed to what, for a reason Dawn didn't know, was called the 'floo room' and ducked into her fireplace.

As she emerged through the other side, Jenny (one of the older slayers at the centre and Dawn's closest friend there) jumped violently, spilling her tea onto the cheap wooden table.

"Dawn! You startled me." Jenny picked up a dishcloth and dabbed at the spilt tea.

"Sorry." Dawn replied absently, looking around the kitchen and heading into the hallway. "Is Giles about?"

"He's upstairs. Do you want me to go get him?"

"Nah, I'll do it;" Dawn took a deep breath and yelled at the top of her lungs: "_Giles!!"_

Almost immediately Giles' head appeared over the banister as he looked to see what had warranted someone to shout his name so loudly that the windows rattled.

"What's wrong Dawn?" He asked, managing to sound both irritated and worried at once.

Dawn was clutching her notes from the office on the Potters. "There's something _very_ wiggins-worthy going on here."

Giles rolled his eyes as another head joined his. Dawn gaped with surprise as she saw the white beard and luminous robes.

Dawn opened and closed her mouth a few times. Why was the crazy dress wearing guy from W&H standing upstairs?

Giles looked a little irritated. He still didn't have a clue as to what was going on and he hated not knowing. He glared down at Dawn who was still staring uselessly up at them. "Do close your mouth Dawn."

Dumbledore looked positively delighted, especially when he was standing next to the less-than-happy Giles. "Hello again Miss Summers!" He beamed. "How've you been?"

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Thanks for reading and PLEASE review, nicely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	3. With Friends Like That

**Thanks to the Reviewers:**

**Allen Pitt: **I'm planning to break the spell very gradually. She is wondering what is going on, but as you'll see in the next couple of chapters, there's going to be a lot happening to take her mind off it. Thanks for your review (and no it's not Harry Potter!)

**Sigma1:** I too am hoping to avoid Mary-Sueing Dawn- if you think I am please let me know and I'll change it! Thanks for Reading and Reviewing.

"**rude reviewer": **hakuna matata

**Tap Dancing Willow: **Yup- they're actual translations. Thanks for reading and coming back for more :)

**

* * *

A/N: Just so you know, the books will be edited quite heavily in this story. If I don't change it, it happened as in the book though.**

There is going to be more explanations in this chapter of what's happening, probably. It won't make sense at the moment, were only a few chapters in, but (I hope) it will come together at the end.

There are not going to be that many Buffy characters in this. The ones that will pop up won't be main characters and will just have 'cameos'

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: WITH FRIENDS LIKE THAT WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?**

"There's something _very_ wiggins worthy going on here."

Giles rolled his eyes as another head joined his. Dawn gaped with surprise as she saw the white beard and luminous robes.

Dawn opened and closed her mouth a few times. Why was the crazy dress wearing guy from W&H standing upstairs?

Giles looked a little irritated. He still didn't have a clue as to what was going on and he hated not knowing. He glared down at Dawn who was still staring uselessly up at them. "Do close your mouth Dawn."

Dumbledore looked positively delighted, especially when he was standing next to the less-than-happy Giles. "Hello again Miss Summers!" He beamed. "How've you been?"

Then Dawn said something that would have earned her a scolding from her mother. "What's going on?" She asked rudely.

Dumbledore chuckled. "You certainly get strait to the point. Very well. Now that you are here I will say what I came here to say, possibly a little privacy would be beneficial."

Giles looked around in surprise. He hadn't noticed the slayers gathering below them. "We can use my office."

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Splendid! Lead the way Mr. Giles!"

Giles shared a significant look with Dawn- this man got excited over the prospect of going into Giles' office! He must be a loon.

Giles showed Dumbledore to his office. He was quite proud of it actually; he'd always wanted an office like it. There was dark wood panelling up the bottom half of the wall and cream paint on the rest. There was a bookcase covering one wall which had the more dangerous books crammed in as well as Giles' personal collection.

Giles gestured to a bottle green armchair in one corner of the room and Dumbledore sat in it while Giles and Dawn sat in matching chairs opposite him.

"So, what's going on?" Dawn repeated.

Giles mentally glared at Dawn. She had all the patience of her older sister, but they must be seen to make a united front against this stranger so he couldn't show his disapproval outright.

"Ahh yes, I'll just get strait to the point. I hear that you had a recent encounter with Voldemort, well a group of his followers at any rate. I trust that none of your slayers were hurt?"

Giles eyed him curiously. "Nothing serious."

"Marvellous!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together in excitement. "I trust that you know of the situation with Voldermort?

"Big bad. Disappeared about ten years ago 'cause of a run in with a little baby." Dawn clarified.

Dumbledore squinted at her as if he were trying to figure something out. "That is a rather reductionist summary, but essentially correct. The wizarding world has-"

"Wait; what is this wizarding world? It was in the notes I found at Wolfram and Hart, but surely we would have heard about this Voldemort guy if he was killing off Wiccans."

"We are different to Wiccan witches, Miss Summers," Dumbledore explained patiently; "we use wands to focus our own blood magic."

"Blood magic?"

"It is part of the witch or wizard, not borrowed magic from the earth like Willow uses." Giles clarified for Dawn who had never heard of this variety of magic before. "We had some dealings with the magical community at the old council."

Dumbledore beamed at Giles; other people's knowledge excited him, as did most things really. Dumbledore became more serious as he continued. "Voldemort was once a student at Hogwarts, a school where young witches and wizards learn to focus their magic, while I was transfigurations professor. I am now headmaster of Hogwarts. Back then he went by the name Tom Riddle and his school days went without incident, although he was disliked by many of the students and professors alike for being so self-centred.

"After he left Hogwarts, he wasn't heard of for over five years. I believe he used this time to become familiar with dark magic and to gather his followers. Then the war began. Voldemort, as he was now known, began to murder non-magic families, particularly those with magical knowledge. I formed what was called the Order of the Phoenix to fight Voldemort alongside aurors, magical police. The first stage of the war continued for ten years until Voldemort met his match.

"James and Lily Potter had gotten married in their last year at Hogwarts, at Easter. No-one knew why they had rushed into things but three months later they had a baby boy. Lily had always been good at charms and had managed to hide her bump from everyone at school, including myself. They named the baby Harry Potter."

Giles gasped in surprise at this name. He knew of the boy Dawn dreamed about. He looked over to her to see her looking relatively calm. She already knew.

When Giles made no further sound Dumbledore continued. "The Halloween after Harry's first birthday, James and Lily were betrayed by one of their closest friends."

"By their friend? Was he under a spell or something?" Dawn asked, hoping that they had been bewitched in some way.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "No. He just turned sides."

"How could someone do that to their _friend_?" Dawn raged. "He sentenced them to death, right?"

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Voldemort killed them both that night. But when he turned his wand on Harry and performed the curse that would kill him something happened. The curse rebounded, leaving Voldemort powerless. He fled leaving many to believe that he died, but he was just biding his time.

"Non-magic families have started getting attacked again which leads me to believe that Voldemort has once again risen to power."

Dawn and Giles looked to each other following Dumbledore's serious speech.

"What's that got to do with us?" Dawn asked.

Dumbledore smiled at her. "I would have thought that would be obvious Miss Summers."

Dawn continued to look at him blankly, but realisation dawned on Giles' face. "He wants our help."

Dumbledore nodded. "I fear that these are dangerous times and we have proven before that the wizarding world alone is not enough to stop Voldemort. But with the help of your slayers we may stand a chance."

"What do you think Giles?" Dawn asked, momentarily ignoring Dumbledore's presence.

"I'm not sure. Although we have approximately two-hundred-and-ten active slayers, only ninety or so of them are fully trained and we could not put all of them into your war at the expense of our own."

"I do not expect you to, Mr Giles, what I propose is a team of twenty or thirty girls or as many as can be spared to help our cause. If I had known of your existence previously, then I would have asked for your help before…actually maybe I wouldn't have, there are several…political issues regarding revealing our world to almost-muggles."

Dawn nodded knowledgeably. "Ahh, politics; comes from the Latin 'poli' meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning bloodsucking creatures. It does sound right up our alley though, and the girls are in-between apocalypses…"

Giles hesitated, thinking practically as always. "Well that seems reasonable, but I know relatively little about your war, or about your world for that matter. How would we equip them against magic?"

"I do not expect an answer now, or even next week. What I propose is for a member of your organisation to stay at Hogwarts, perhaps you, Miss Summers and then to 'report back' as it were. You would not have to fight in our war until you have made your decision." Dumbledore assured them, hoping he got the reaction he wanted, the reaction he needed.

Giles looked to Dawn to get her reaction. "You would be the one to go; I'd need someone I could trust before I send the girls to war. It could be dangerous, even if you're not on the front lines, and you'd have to quit your job."

"Quit? I'm in!" Dawn joked. "Seriously though, there's no harm in going to see what's going on, is there?"

"This is up to you Dawn; you're big enough to make your own decisions now." Giles said seriously to his pseudo daughter. "For what it's worth, I think you should go. We've just averted the last apocalypse here and even that was relatively minor, so there should be very little action for a while."

Dawn nodded, weighing up the pros and cons in her head. Pro: no more working at evil inc. Con: leaving home and her friends. Pro: if she went then the slayers could save lives, innocent lives. Con: She'd only just met this Dumbledore, could she trust him? Pro: the magic part sounding wicked cool. Con: this was a totally new world that she knew pretty much nothing about.

Dumbledore was watching the interaction between the two with interest. He'd done some research when he had met Dawn Summers at Wolfram and Hart the other day and when he found out about her connections with the Slaying Centre, he decided that that would be the perfect front to see her again. And if he happened to recruit some new members for the order in the process then who was he to complain?

"Before I say yes, what would this observation of the wizarding world mean? What would I have to do?"

"You would become a temporary member of the Order of the Phoenix. The current temporary headquarters of the Order is Hogwarts, so you would be staying there, in a different wing to the children, of course. While you are there you can find out more about the wizarding community and about our war, and if you wanted to teach a few classes on practical defence, then I wouldn't say no!" Dumbledore smiled at the young woman. "You are welcome to stay at Hogwarts for as long as you need to make your decision. I recommend you stay until Christmas at the earliest, but you may have commitments here so we shall not set a date.

"Our war has barely begun, but if you decide 'yes' then you will need time to select and prepare your slayers for what's to come. You are welcome to observe until July when the term ends if you wish, but this would be 'cutting it rather fine' as you say. I would suggest between Christmas and April… I daresay the students will like having you around!"

Dawn looked to Giles and he smiled supportively. "Okay; I'm in."

Dumbledore looked more delighted than he had all day. "Excellent! The students began just over three weeks ago, so you're welcome to come anytime."

"Err right. I might leave it a few days though, you know, to get my stuff together." Dawn said awkwardly.

"Of course. Shall we say Thursday? I'll send Hagrid to pick you up. Good day Miss Summers, Mr. Giles!" And with that Dumbledore apperated out of Giles' office to who knows where.

Giles watched him go, having a strong suspicion that Dumbledore hadn't told them everything and that he had some kind of ulterior motive.

Dawn, it seemed, had similar thoughts. "Do you ever feel like you've totally been conned into something?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well? Is she coming?" Minerva McGonagall was waiting in Dumbledore's office when he got back.

"Yes. She'll be here on Thursday, I'll ask Hagrid to pick her up."

Professor McGonagall frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Albus? She is the sister of a slayer after all."

"I know, Minerva, I was the one who did the research after all."

"Well, don't you think that she might find Hagrid a bit alarming?" She said in hushed tones as if Hagrid might be listening somewhere.

"I'm sure Hagrid will handle the situation perfectly."

The transfigurations teacher arched one eyebrow doubtfully, but didn't question the headmaster any further. "Shall I ask the house elves to set her up a room?"

"Yes please, Minerva, but it can wait until tomorrow; they'll be preparing dinner now. Would you care for a lemon sherbet?"

McGonagall declined as she always did and thought back to the first time Dumbledore had offered her a sherbet lemon. "Headmaster, are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"Certainly. We need all the help we can get against Voldemort." Dumbledore answered, ignoring his colleague's flinch at the use of _his_ name.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." Dumbledore answered mysteriously.

Professor McGonagall waited patiently for the headmaster to elaborate and she wasn't disappointed.

He sighed, having one of those moments when he looked his age and not younger as he usually did. "I don't know Minerva. This could destroy her forever, she may never be the same again, but if I just let it go then it also could destroy her, but this time physically. The memories that will undoubtedly be uncovered would no doubt drive her insane and that is the best case scenario. The two beings would eat away at each other, but the stronger would win. The Key would win. And if the Key gets out then there will literally be hell on earth

"From what I could find out, Dawn Summers is two beings sharing one body. One of those beings is a young woman in her early twenties, the other a powerful key to dimensions and if she can't learn to live with both then the results could be disastrous, not just for her, but for the world."

"I hope this works out."

"As do I- being in these familiar surroundings should help her regain her memory and when she does, we shall be there to help her with it." Dumbledore promised himself. If Dawn could be told what was happening to her, what the strange memories were about, then she should be able to fight the battle between her 'personalities' and hopefully win. "I just hope she doesn't destroy the school; her sister had quite the track record going and the younger Miss Summers was partly made out of her…"

"What?!" The deputy head cried. "You're letting a dangerous creature into a school? Honestly, Albus, if this is another one of your pet projects then don't you think that it would be better outside Hogwarts?"

"Of course not." Dumbledore said dismissively, the twinkle back in his eye. "Best not tell Severus about the destroying part though; you know how protective he is over his dungeons. No; I think it will be rather exciting! And I daresay that the students will rather enjoy having her around."

His companion looked appalled. "_Exciting_? Why will the students enjoy having someone who burns down schools around?

"Minerva, do get your facts straight…that was her sister. Well I suppose she was involved the third and fourth time, but I promise you she only played a fairly minor role in the third time at least, I believe you heard about it Minerva? You remember the apocalypse that resulted in the Sunnydale Sink Hole and the activation of the potential slayers? And I am assured that there was some kind of evil being in the mystery meat that provoked her to blow up her Italian school's dining room."

McGonagall shook her head, confused and slightly horrified. "Third and fourth time? Sink hole? Mystery meat? Blowing up dining rooms? I can't believe you're letting a muggle who likes to dabble with explosives into this school and saying that it will be exciting!?!"

"All I'm saying is that a muggle perspective never hurt anyone." He claimed, but the twinkle in his eye betrayed him. "I have asked Miss Summers to teach the occasional class of practical defence while she is here, and I would appreciate it if some of the staff would agree to tutor her in wand magic, it is in her blood after all."

"Magic in Summers' blood? Do you really think that magic could have been carried over? After all she went through in this ritual?" The deputy head queried somewhat doubtfully.

"**_If_** it's even who I think she is. If so, we'll soon find out, won't we?"

"Do you think it's really her?" McGonagall asked hopefully.

Dumbledore sighed hopefully. "I hope so, Minerva, I hope so."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dawn twisted the phone's cord around her fingers. Updating Buffy on whatever crazy mess they'd manage to get into was part of the agreement when she'd moved to England and quite possibly the least favourite part of Dawn's day.

"Still haven't phoned her?" Giles said coming down the stairs.

"No. She's gonna freak when she finds out I'm leaving the slayer centre."

Giles smiled gently. There were times when Dawn seemed older than her twenty-four years, but then there were times like this where she seemed young, almost like she had only been alive for the ten years she had technically been on this earth as Dawn Summers for. "She'll understand." Dawn sent him a look. "She'll come round…eventually."

"Maybe; I still get the feeling that we were duped into this."

Giles frowned. "Probably."

"I mean he left the minute I said I'd go as if he was scared I'd changed my mind. And the timing is just too convenient. If he'd really wanted the slayer's help then he could have called at any point and why didn't he just go straight to Buffy? She's in charge of all the battle stuff."

"It does seem a bit odd." Giles admitted, already regretting letting Dawn go. "You'll have to be careful while you're there and try and find out the real reason for his visit."

"I will." Dawn promised.

"And don't trust anyone unless you're absolutely sure, you head what happened to the Potters."

"Again, I will." She replied as Giles headed into the kitchen.

"And Dawn?" Dawn turned to look at Giles. "Stop procrastinating and just bloody phone her!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So this Lord whojamiwhatsit-"

"Voldemort, it's French." Dawn corrected, still feeling that something didn't add up.

On the other end of the line, Buffy frowned. "Voice of a walrus?"

Dawn allowed herself a small smile at Buffy butchering of French. "Close, flee from death."

"Whatever, this Volleymort- he's your newest big bad?"

Dawn almost corrected her sister, but, thinking back to the 'kissing toast' incident all those years ago, decided not to bother. "Yup."

"And he has a wand to access, what was it, blood magic?"

"That's right."

"And blood magic is different to Willow's earth magic?" Buffy asked, having a bit of difficulty taking all of this in.

"Yes, but it's not just that. You know those dreams I've been having? This Voldemort guy was defeated by a kid called Harry Potter, how majorly weird is that?"

"Dawn this could be serious- it could've been a vision or something." Buffy panicked.

"I don't get visions, that's your gig. But I'm looking into it with Dumbledore anyway."

"Dumbledore?"

"Powerful wizard, really smart. I think we can believe him, he seems very trustworthy. Knows all kind of junk."

Buffy rolled her eyes at the receiver. "So does he know what the deal is with this Harry Potter kid?"

"He does." Dawn took a deep breath, much like Giles did when he was about to give the slayer speech. "On Halloween night, eleven years ago, James and Lily Potter and their one-year-old son, Harry, were betrayed by one of their best friends to Voldemort-"

"Their best friend? Brings a whole new meaning to 'with friends like that, who needs enemies' doesn't it?"

"Would you let me finish?" Dawn took Buffy's silence as a 'yes' and continued. "No-one really knows what happened, but that night Voldemort…"

Buffy waited in silence for her sister to finish. "So what's the plan? Want me to come over and kick his ass? I'm free next Tuesday, no, wait. Tuesday's trouble day…make it Wednesday?"

"You don't need to get with the ass kickage. We can handle this one, for the moment at least. We've still go to decide if we're even going to help these guys, it's not exactly our strong point."

"Fighting evil isn't our strong point? I think you've kinda missed the point, Dawnie."

"Not fighting evil, fighting evil wizards. Need I remind you how well you fared when you had to fight evil Willow? Besides this war's in a whole other world, different to the slayer and demon world and different to Willow's witchy world. It's a whole new type of magic."

"So what are you guys gonna do?"

Dawn took a deep breath. Buffy was definitely gonna hit the roof. "I'm going to Hogwarts; it's this school for witches, to see if we want to help these wizard guys fight Voldemort."

"You're going to Hogwarts? Where's that?" Buffy said, worry creeping into her voice.

"Umm, I'm not really sure." Dawn admitted, feeling foolish for not getting anymore information off Dumbledore that afternoon.

"Uh-huh, no way! You're not going!" Buffy commanded.

"Buffy, I'm twenty-four years old, plus I'm thousands of miles away, you can't exactly stop me."

That appeared to be the worst thing Dawn could've said as the next moment she had to hold the phone away from her head as Buffy started screaming down the phone, her voice carrying in perfect clarity from Cleveland and allowed Giles (who was shamelessly eavesdropping) to hear every word.

"There's no way I'm letting you go off who knows where with who knows who to fight in a war! I won't let you go when you're fifty let alone when you're barely out of college! You haven't even got any superpowers or anything! And what do we even know about this Moldywart, or Fumblewhore for that matter; nothing! It could be a trap! A trap I tell you!"

About a minute later Dawn put her ear to the phone again and then pulled back sharply. Buffy was still in full rant mode, she could, and probably would, go on for hours. And then, when Dawn finally thought she might tire of it, she'd get a burst of energy and start all over again.

Damn slayer endurance.

* * *

Sorry about the lack of action, it'll get more interesting when I set the story up, I promise.

You should be able to guess who the vessel is now; I've dropped loads of hints! If not, then you won't have long to wait!

Thanks for reading and PLEASE review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	4. Check Out All The Magic Junk!

**Thanks to the Reviewers:**

**Tap dancing willow: **Glad you liked it, greetings from erm… Old England :)

**Juzblu: **No story is complete without Buffy butchering names. Thanks for reviewing.

**Lucky Shamrock: **But then isn't Lily also kinda dead? grin I like it when people put thought into my story. Thanks for reviewing.

**Charmed-angel4: **Okay so that would make it 8 years right? I'll remember that. Thank for pointing that out- it's will (hopefully) make the story more accurate to read. And also, feel free to copy great chunks of the story into your reviews any time!

**A/N: **Sorry this was so long coming- RL issues. I'm going skiing for the next week so expect the next update sometime after that! Keep reading!

**As always, thanks to Matt for betaing**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: CHECK OUT ALL THE MAGIC JUNK!**

"Dawn, are you sure you want to do this?" Jenny asked, watching Dawn go toand fro and put things in her suitcase.

"I don't know, I mean the pink flowy top will go, but not much else and I do already have five pairs of jeans." Dawn held the sequined jeans up to her. "Nah, I mean you've got to draw the line somewhere right?"

"I meant the trip, not the jeans."

Dawn smirked, telling Jenny that she had known exactly what she had meant. "We have to check it out before we send you to war. And I'm the obvious choice to go- we can't spare any watchers, and the slayers aren't trained for this."

"Neither are you." Jenny pointed out.

"Not technically, but I've been around slayers and watchers my whole life and I did the watcher course. There; done!" Dawn exclaimed triumphantly, packing an extra jumper into her case andtrying to do it up.

"I know… I'll just miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Dawn said, still struggling with the case.

"Here, let me." Jenny went over and snapped the case shut without any difficulty.

Dawn pouted. "Show off."

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Hagrid was walking through the streets of Surrey. As he thought back to the last time he was in the county, delivering Harry to his only living relatives, he failed to notice all the funny looks he was getting. If wasn't often, or ever really, that you saw a half giant in a patchy brown over coat  
and clutching a pink umbrella walking down the road.

He dug into one of his pockets and pulled out its contents. One of the women sitting on her perfectly mowed lawn glared at him as old biscuit crumbs scattered onto the pavement. A white mouse dropped to the ground causing the woman to squeak and dash back inside; wait until she told Petunia about this!

Hagrid finally found the slip of paper he was looking for and looked at the map drawn on it. He could only be about two minutes from the slaying centre. He stuffed all the items he still held into his pocket and set off down Privet Drive.

As he walked past the tidy houses, noticing one in particular, he thought to himself that these families would riot if they knew about the super natural activity going on just a couple of streets away. He only knew of one family who even knew the wizarding world existed, and they were less than accepting about it as he'd found out first hand when he had to deliver Harry's letter.

He peered through the wrought iron gate he had just approached. This was it. He pushed the gate open with a creak and went up to the door. The slaying centre was actually more of a converted mansion. It looked about four storeys high and had big double doors that could withstand a bit of a pounding!

He banged on the door and it was quickly answered by a young girl who epped when she saw the half giant on her door step and slammed the door in his face.

Well this wasn't going well.

Hagrid scratched his head. That was very rude. He knocked again. Five seconds later the door had opened and there were five crossbows pointed at him.

This wasn't going well at all.

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"Hey guys, what's the commotion?" Dawn said coming down the stairs into the lobby.

"Monster!" One of the slayers shouted.

"What?"

"We heard someone knocking on the door and when Em answered it this guy was standing there."

"What kind of attacker would knock first?" Dawn said reasonably.

The slayers looked at each other. They hadn't thought of it like that.

"So where is this monster?"

The slayer who had first shouted looked embarrassed. "He's err, tied up in the training room."

Dawn raised one eyebrow. "You tied him up in the room that has weapons decorating the walls? What did he have to say to that?"

"He didn't say much really." One slayer said thoughtfully.

"He seemed kinda surprised." Another offered.

Dawn nodded. "Giles!" She screamed without warning, making some of the slayers nearest to her wince.

Down the corridor the door to Giles' office opened and he came out looking annoyed. "What is it this time?"

"Some guy came to the door and the girls locked him up." Dawn summarised.

"We were attacked in broad daylight?" Giles said surprised. "I didn't hear anything."

"Not exactly attacked." Emma, the slayer who first opened the door, replied.

Dawn smirked. "He came to the door and they captured him. Was it even a demon?"

The girls looked at each other. "He looked kind of human."

"Only bigger."

"Like a giant."

"A giant?" Giles groaned.

"What?"

"Dawn, do you remember what I told you about Hagrid?"

"Was that when I was trying on my new coat? Cause if so, then no. You should know better than to tell me something when I'm distracted."

Some of the slayers sniggered at this, but they were silenced by Giles givingthem 'the look'. "He's half giant."

"Which half?" Dawn quipped, before putting two and two together. "Ohhh. Uh oh."

"Indeed." Giles responded dryly, already heading to the training room. "I suggest we free him, don't you? Where did you put him?"

The slayers blushed. "Err the training room."

"You tied a potentially dangerous criminal up where we store half our weaponry!"

"He wasn't dangerous, you just said so!" One cocky slayer said.

"But he could've been."

"But he wasn't!"

"I can't believe you captured my guide!" Dawn groaned, effectively stopping the row. "Way to make a first impression!"

"I didn't know he was your guide, you could've warned us." Emma responded defensively.

Dawn didn't reply to that, she just stormed after Giles who was about to enter the training room.

When Giles entered, Hagrid had managed to free his top half and was working on the rope around his legs.

"You couldn't even tie him up properly!" Giles ranted, alerting Hagrid to their presence.

"Giles, So not the point!" Dawn went over to Hagrid and undid the rest of his knots while he eyed her suspiciously. "Hey; I'm Dawn Summers."

He stood up, rubbing his wrists gingerly. "I'm Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of the keys at Hogwarts. Ev'ryone calls me Hagrid tho'.""

"Huh, perfect." Dawn grinned. "See Giles, he'll look after me, won't you Hagrid?"

Hagrid still looked baffled, Dumbledore hadn't told him the full story about Dawn's origins. "Yes Miss."

"I'm all ready, my cases are upstairs." Dawn took Hagrid by the arm, her chatter distracting him from the fact that he'd just been captured and tied up by a bunch of girls.

"Cases?" Giles asked wearily. "How many exactly do you have?"

"Well I'm going to be there all year! And some of them are really small!"

"How many Dawn?" Giles repeated sternly.

"Mmmff." Dawn mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Fourteen." She finally admitted.

"Dawn! You do not need fourteen suitcases for one year"

"Well I did have thirteen, but it's unlucky so I added one." She saidlamely.

Giles clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes in the manner of an Englishman at the end of his tether. "And how do you plan on carrying them all? You'll have to leave some here."

"But Giles-" Dawn whined.

"Mr. Giles?" Hagrid interrupted cautiously. "We can shrink the cases so they'll fit in our pockets."

"With you wand right?"

Hagrid reached for his umbrella. "Not exactly."

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Half an hour later, Dawn (and her itty bitty suitcases) was walking towards Little Whinging Park with Hagrid.

"Professor Dumbledore has given me a por' key ta get us the Hogwarts. He thought yer may prefer it if we get there quick."

Dawn nodded. "So what's a port key?"

Hagrid frowned. "Have yer heard of teleportin'? Well it's sorta like tha' 'cept with a trigger."

Dawn nodded, happy with this explanation. Although somewhere in the back of her mind it seemed like she had already known that, just forgotten it. "What's Hogwarts like Hagrid? I'd never heard of it until I met Professor Dumbledore and he wasn't exactly forthcoming."

A smile slid across Hagrid's face. He could talk about Hogwarts for hours; it was what he knew best. But where to start? He only had until they got to the woodlands at the back of the park. "Hogwarts is the safes' place in the world."

"Where is it?"

"Nobody knows. Its unplottable yer see. It's in Scotland, but I can't tell yer exactly where."

"Okay." Dawn said doubtfully, already reconsidering this trip.

"Professor Dumbledore is the headmaster, the best we've ever had I'd wager, and most o' the other professors are a'right."

"Most?"

"Yea." Hagrid grunted, not noticing the nervousness in her voice.

She eyed him anxiously for a moment before changing the conversation. "What about Voldemort? What?"

"We don't like to say his name, its bad luck see?" Hagrid said in hushed tones, just in case Voldemort was listening.

"Oh, alright then. It's a bit dumb though; fear of a name only increases fear of an object."

Hagrid gave her a funny look but said nothing more, although he did briefly wonder what Dumbledore thought he was doing bringing a muggle to Hogwarts.

Dawn nearly tripped over Hagrid when he stopped suddenly in the woodland. "Hey!"

"We're here."

She looked around. There was absolutely nothing there. "Where exactly is here?"

Hagrid didn't reply, well he did, but it made no sense. "Jus' in time." He dug into his pockets and pulled out a peacock feather. "Grab onto this an' we'll be off."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. This was a port key? But it was a feather! She took hold of it anyway, as did Hagrid and nothing happened. As she was about to ask what the feather was supposed to do, she felt a sharp tug behind her navel and felt herself hurtling through space.

Dawn landed on the floor outside a large gate, even bigger than the one at the slaying centre. She got to her feet and dusted herself off. "Okay; so with the not loving of that. Please say we're never gonna do that again?"

Hagrid looked confused at the Californian girl's language and took a moment to decipher it. "No Miss, we're here. The school carriages will take us to the doors."

Dawn nodded. "Whoa! What are they?"

"They're thestrals. Only people who've seen death can see 'em, I take it yer've seen it then Miss?"

"More than you could ever imagine." Dawn replied seriously. "And Hagrid, please call me Dawn."

Hagrid nodded and showed Dawn onto the carriage. As the thestrals started off, Hagrid started telling Dawn about the wizarding world. About Hogsmede, Diagon Alley, Voldemort etcetera etcetera and although it was impossible, Dawn couldn't help but think she had heard it all before…

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Bang! Bang! Bang! "Miss Summers?"

Dawn rolled off her bed and opened her portrait hole. "Yup?"

"Dinner begins in five minutes in the Great Hall." Professor McGonagall said.

"Oooh good, I'm starved!" Dawn grinned. She'd changed into a pair of dark jeans and a black jumper since Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had officially welcomed her to the school in a spectacularly boring fashion.

McGonagall inwardly raised her eyes as the young American clambered into the hallway. She couldn't help but doubt Dumbledore's actions this time, this girl was barely an adult and she acted even younger. "Don't you want to put on your robes?"

"My what? Oh the cape things. Nah, I'm fine. Dumbledore said they were optional for guests. Which way is it?"

McGonagall pursed her lips and headed down the corridors in silence. When they got into the great hall, the students were already seated but the food had not yet been served. Dawn approached the staff table, managing not to gape at the ceiling, as the student's chatter gradually ceased as they each noticed the newcomer.

"Ah, Miss Summers. Glad you could make it! Do sit down." Dumbledore beamed at her and lifted his wand.

"Err, thanks." Dawn hesitantly sat on the chair he had just drawn her in between himself and a greasy looking guy.

Dumbledore stood to address the students. "You may have noticed an addition to our table. This is Miss Summers. She will be teaching a mandatory class which shall be added to your timetables tomorrow; Muggle Defence. I trust you will all make her feel welcome. Tuck in!"

At the mention of what her class would be, mutterings broke out all over the hall, but from one table in particular. Dawn felt students glaring at her from across the room and shifted uncomfortably to look at the professor next to her.

"Hi, I'm Dawn Summers."

The greasy guy turned towards her slowly, looking down his long nose at her. "Professor Snape. Potions" he said before turning back to the meal.

"Alrighty then." Dawn muttered turning to her plate which was piled with food.

She'd been here two minutes and already she'd broken the dress code, had death glares from half the students and one of the professors hated her. It was going to be an interesting year.

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Dawn hummed as she sauntered through the forest. Professor Dumbledore had told her that evil demons only entered the forest very rarely, but she'd still decided to check it out.

She was armed from top to toe, literally. From the wooden chopsticks in her hair to the wooden heels on her boots. Plus she had an emergency port key in her pocket that would transport her back to Hogwarts if things got too dangerous.

The hairs on the back of her neck began to tingle. Demon? Most definitely, it felt like a vampire. You could tell because things went too quiet. She'd heard a group of crickets chirping a moment ago, but they had stopped and the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

Dawn continued walking but she slid one of her stakes out of her coat pocket. A twig snapped behind her and a pair of arms grabbed her from behind. Show time.

She struggled, but the arms held her firmly. Time for plan b. She shifted slightly so that the vampire's heart was exposed and swung her stake over her shoulder. There; all dusty.

Dawn shook herself to get the dust off and headed back towards her comfy bed in the castle. She'd needed that; it must be a Buffy thing, the need to kill things every so often. Buffy didn't understand though, well, she might now. When she was younger, Dawn had constantly bugged Buffy to take her out patrolling. But Buffy couldn't see that it wasn't just an irritating little sister thing. It was in her blood; in both of their blood. And you couldn't just turn away from that.

It's always about the blood.

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Dawn was nearly back to her room, near the Gryffindor Tower, when she heard someone talking. A young someone, but it was way too late for the students to be out of bed…

"…Now I'm going to bed before you two come up with another idea that will get us killed…or worse, expelled!"

"What's going on here?"

"P- profess-ssor!" One of them squeaked.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Mr.…?"

"Neville."

"Mr. Neville."

"No," he squeaked again; "Neville's my name."

Dawn took pity on the terrified boy and turned her attention to the other members of the group. "Who are you three?"

"Hermione Granger." The bushy haired girl said.

"Ron Weasley." He could so be related to Willow.

"Err Harry Potter." The final member of the group said a bit reluctantly and unnecessarily; his scar was information enough as to his identity. Harry felt odd, Buffy would have said that her spider sense was tingling, but Harry didn't know Buffy so he didn't know about her spider sense.

"Well duh! So I repeat, shouldn't you guys be in bed?" The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up again. What wasn't right in the corridor?

They all started talking at once.

"We were just going to the umm, kitchens! That's right the kitchens because we were hungry."

"I, err, I j-just got locked out. I swear it!"

"Well, Harry and Ron were going to a stupid dual and I tried to stop them. But then Filch nearly caught us and there was a trapdoor!"

Dawn held up a hand to get them to stop. "Okay, okay. It's my first night here, I really don't need this. Let's make a deal; I won't ask, and you won't tell me, 'kay?"

"But-but-but." Hermione stuttered.

Ron was giving Hermione a disbelieving look; did she want them to be punished? Neville was looking greatly relieved; he didn't want to be in any more trouble. They hadn't even been there a month and already he'd lost more points than he'd gained, but that didn't surprise him really.

Harry turned gratefully to their teacher. "Thanks Professor."

"Eugh, sorry; the Professor title makes me feel old... I guess I'll have to get used to it. Actually I wonder if I can swing it so I can be just Dawn, Professor Dawn…hmm, maybe not…" Dawn decided.

Harry was giving her a strange look. "Well thanks, err Professor."

"No worries." Hermione, Neville and Ron ducked through the portrait hole and Harry made as if to follow them. "Hey kid?" Harry turned back to her. "No more midnight escapades or fighting or duels or whatever, got me?"

Harry grinned. "Technically there was no duel this time."

Dawn tried to stop her smirk, but failed miserably. "Go to bed. You four better not be dead in the morning... I meant the tired kind of dead, not the dead sort of dead, but you probably guessed that…and I just keep with the talking don't I?"

Harry grinned again. "Goodnight Professor."

"'Night kid." Harry disappeared from sight and Dawn shook her head at the closed doorway.

Sooner or later that kid was gonna get himself killed.

Probably sooner.

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She was running. Running as fast as she could. She tripped over a tree root; it was going to get her.

She tried to get to her feet but stumbled again. No, it was here! A dark shadow loomed over her. This was it. The end.

The shadow shifted. It plunged down towards her in slow motion. "You think you know what you are, what's to come. You've only just begun."

Dawn bolted upright in her bed dripping with sweat. She looked around still alarmed, wasn't prophesising nightmares Buffy's thing?

As her breathing returned to normal, the panic subsided but there was a new thing taking its place, total and utter confusion.

"Are you alright dear?" One of the portraits asked, but Dawn ignored it and spoke to herself instead;

"Well that was new."

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Please Review! 


	5. You Think You Know

**Thanks to all the reviewers:**

**Tap Dancing Willow:** Thanks for reading and reviewing- I love your enthusiasm :)

**Lucky Shamrock: **This chapters longer as well. I hope you like. Thanks for reading.

**Iris Moon:** Not exactly soon, but the next chapter's mostly written so it should be up soon. Thanks for reviewing.

**The Lady Morgaine (x2): **Thanks for both the reviews- this chapter contains the Dawn/ Draco encounter and her first class. I hop you like :)

**Charmed-Angel4: **It's weird, the bits you pick as your favourites are my fave bits too! The next chapter's mostly written so it should be up soon.

**Juzblu: **Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you like the next chapter.

* * *

**A/N:** I'd like to remind you that Harry only started school two weeks ago so he and Hermione aren't friends yet and she's still in her 'irritating know-it-all' phase 

**CHAPTER FIVE: YOU THINK YOU KNOW**

"You think you know what you are, what's to come. You've only just begun."

The words had been playing over in Dawn's mind since the dream. She knew they meant something important, something really important. But what?

It was fairly ominous. Could it mean the key? But she already knew about that. And she hadn't 'begun' that recently- surely the dreams would've started ten years ago if that were the case? She had a feeling that Hogwarts had something to do with it. It was such a coincidence; start at creepy magic school and then start having creepy unexplainable dreams.

"Good morning Miss Summers!" Dumbledore greeted as she sat down for breakfast. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not really, no."

"Anything I can do to help?" He offered.

Dawn thought about it, and decided she could trust him even though she'd only known him for a short while. "I had a dream, well a nightmare really, and in it I was being chased by something. I fell and it caught up with me. It was about to kill me when it said 'you think you know what you are, what's to come. You've only just begun'."

Dumbledore looked slightly amused; she'd managed to say all of that in just one breath. "And then what?"

"I woke up."

"Ah. Well, have some sausages, cheer yourself up a bit," Dumbledore uselessly suggested, "the house elves have really out done themselves."

Dawn smiled weakly and took a sausage from the plate. She cast a look around the hall, her eyes settling on one of the first years who had been bothering her since their little encounter the night before.

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Harry Potter was shovelling food in his mouth, keeping half an eye on Ron and Semus who were having a heated debate over which quiditch team was the best. He'd only been at Hogwarts for four weeks but it already felt like more of a home than Privet Drive did. He felt eyes boring into his back and looked round expecting to see Snape's loathing eyes staring at him. But it was someone else.

The new Professor locked eyes with him and he felt his scar begin to tingle, but not in a bad way like with Snape on the first day. It was warm and comforting. He felt like he knew her, like she knew him, and he offered her a small smile which was quickly returned. He'd felt that there was something odd a bit last night, but it was more intense now. Maybe because he wasn't absolutely exhausted and scared shitless about the three headed dog they're seen the previous night.

Harry's attention was diverted by Ron calling his name. He got the feeling that he'd been calling for a while. "Yes Ron?"

"What's up? You've been out of it for ages!"

"I'm fine." Harry turned back to look at the staff table. The new professor had her head down, but Dumbledore caught his eye and smiled knowingly.

Things were working out just fine.

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Dawn fretted nervously at her desk. When she'd got here, Dumbledore had asked her to take a regular teaching slot and, like a fool, she'd agreed. She had the first and second years twice a week and the rest once a week as they had important exams which took up most of their free periods.

The first group was Gryffindor and Slytherin first years and from what Hagrid had said there was a bit of rivalry between the two houses. Dumbledore knew about the rivalry, yet he'd put them together for the one class where they could kick each other senseless. Smart man that Dumbledore…not.

A girl with bushy hair stuck her head around the door. "Professor Summers? Can I come in?"

Dawn recognised the girl from the night before. "Sure. You're early; you must have left breakfast the same time as I did."

"I like to be able to prepare for my classes before the class gets here." Hermione said primly.

"Right, Hermione, just dump your stuff over there. I'm gonna move the tables to give us more room."

The girl looked lightly appalled. "But what will we write on?"

"This is a practical class, kid. No note taking necessary." Dawn heaved one of the tables to the side, hoping that this would be the end to the kid's questions. Boy was she wrong.

"Why don't you just use your wand for that?"

"Don't have one." Dawn grunted, stacking another table to the side.

"You're a muggle?"

"Did I say that? No, you assumed. And you know what they say…" Dawn trailed off, but apparently the girl didn't know what they said. "Assume and you make an ass out of you and me?"

Once again Hermione looked shocked, presumably at Dawn's language, but the conversation was stopped by a loud chatter announcing the arrival of the rest of the class.

"Hey guys; dump your stuff around the sides and grab a seat on the floor." Dawn said with a confidence that she really didn't feel.

One student with platinum blond hair looked at the floor in disgust after all the rest were seated.

"Problem Spike-alike?"

"You want us to sit on the floor? But it's dirty! I refuse to sit in the dirt and dirty my robes!" He whined.

That made her angry. He was messing up her first class. "Okay, lesson the first, drop the haughty-taughty, holier than thou attitude. I'm the teacher here and what I say goes. Lesson the second, the floor isn't dirty so you precious dress won't get muddy. Now sit."

Miraculously he did, and the giggles he was getting from the rest of the class soon stopped.

"Right, welcome to Muggle Defence 101." Dawn began, not noticing some of the confused looks she was getting from the students who didn't understand her reference. "In the future, don't bother with the dress- err robes for this class. Dumbledore said he'd provide everyone with sweats to wear more confused looks. Also, you won't be needing your wands. You'll be learning muggle methods to defend yourselves. Yes, Spike-alike?"

"We're wizards."

Dawn gave him a patronising look. "I had noticed, what's your point?"

"We don't need muggle ways," he spat, "we've got magic."

"You think you don't need 'muggle ways'? Okay question, wizards duel right? Well what happens if you loose your wand in a fight? You loose, period. But I'm going to be teaching you how you could attack your opponent without a wand or how to try and get yours back. You think you won't get beaten just because you have magic? Well, my sister's a muggle and she could take you and your wands on all at once."

Malfoy snorted. "I still say it's stupid."

"Congratulations, Spike-alike! You've just volunteered yourself to help me demonstrate. That's right Mr…?"

"Draco Malfoy."

"Mr. Malfoy, you've won an all expenses paid ass kicking of a life time! Come on down, Draco, unless you're scared." Dawn taunted.

Draco approached the front of the room cautiously.

"Right kid, what attacking spells do you know? One that you could attack me with and then reverse if necessary." She added as an after thought.

Draco thought for a minute. "A stunning spell."

Dawn nodded. "Right. Now I want you to try and hit me with that spell before I disarm you the muggle way, got it?"

Draco smirked and nodded.

"Hermione, could you be the starter?"

Hermione nodded eagerly. "Ready…steady…go!"

"Stuper-" Draco started, but his wand was snatched from his fingers and he was trapped under his professor's arm.

"And that is why you're taking the class. Drakey boy here can't move without me either breaking his arm or dislocating his shoulder." She released him. "Any questions?"

A forest of hands rose into the air. Dawn sighed when she saw the highest hand in the group. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

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"Miss Summers!" A voice roared from down the corridor.

Dawn counted to ten mentally before turning to face the fuming potions master. "Professor Snape. How can I help you?"

"You attacked my student!" At this point several students stopped to watch their normally cold potion master shrieking like a little child.

"I did not! And quite frankly I'm offended by the accusation!" Dawn said defensively. "Which student?"

"Mr. Malfoy!" Snape glared in what he believed was an intimidating manor, and it probably was. But when you'd grown immune to Spike and Buffy's glares (and they were a hell of a lot scarier than Snape's) then it took more than a greasy potions teacher to scare you.

"Oh, you mean Spike-alike? Actually he attacked me as part of my class. I just turned the tables." Dawn replied cheerfully, knowing to well that this would annoy the potions master even more.

"He says that you grabbed him."

"Yup. Part of my demo." She grinned.

"He says you threatened to break his arm."

"No, I said I could break his arm, not that I would. There's a difference."

"You can't threaten students!" Snape shouted, seemingly unaware of the crowd watching him.

"Wait a sec, I just told you that I didn't threaten him. He's playing you, can't you see? Or is that stick up your ass too distracting? I'm only gonna say it one more time, but I'll say it slowly just for you; I did not threaten any students! Not Drakey or anyone."

"Do not insult my intelligence." Snape snarled. Then he spotted Harry and Ron watching, looking amused and his scowl deepened. "You do not listen in on personal conversations! Fifty points from Gryffindor!"

"You've got to be kidding? They aren't the only people here and they couldn't exactly help but listen what with you being all yell master general!"

"Fifty points from Gryffindor." Snape repeated venomously.

"Fine. Fifty points from Slytherin too." Dawn countered.

"You can't do that." Snape spluttered.

"I think I just did."

"There aren't any Slytherin's here!"

"Sure there is, her. Parkinson isn't it? Nothing personal kid." Dawn said apologetically to the stunned girl.

Snape growled and stormed off. Dawn smirked after him.

"That was bloody brilliant." Ron exclaimed as Snape disappeared from view.

"Thanks. I do my best. Is he always like that?"

"All the time." Harry said gloomily.

"Man, what a bastard…but he's a professor and should be treated with respect." Dawn corrected.

Ron started to roll his eyes, but then realised that this was too a professor and if his Mum found out he'd got detention for being rude to a teacher there'd be no end to the lectures and degnoming duty.

"Now what to do about those points…Oh I know!" Dawn tipped the bag she was carrying and a notepad and pen fell out. "Harry could you please pick those up for me?"

Harry looked at her strangely. "Err…Sure."

When Dawn had her belongings back she beamed at Harry. "Thanks. Fifty points to Gryffindor for being so helpful. And I cancel the points that I earlier took from Slytherin. Can I do that? Is that alright now? Oh well, it'll do. See ya in class!"

Ron, Harry, Pansy and the other students watched her go open mouthed. She was nothing like the other professors they had, she was more confusing for one thing.

"She is my favourite professor here." Ron declared.

"Yeah." Harry agreed. He still felt strange around her, like he should know her.

"We're lucky she gave us those points back. Fred and George would have slaughtered me if I'd lost fifty points in one go."

"Yeah." Harry said again.

"Pity she gave the Slytherin's their points back too though."

"Umm." Harry responded automatically. What was it with Professor Summers?

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"I don't see why I need a wand." Dawn whined.

Professor McGonagall bit her tongue to stop her scolding the young woman. "Professor Dumbledore feels that you have a potential for magic. He wishes to see if this talent will help you."

"Fine, but Buffy won't be happy when she hears you're letting me do magic." That thought seemed to perk her up a bit and they arrived at Oliviander's without the deputy headmistress wanting to sew Dawn's mouth shut.

An old man came out from behind a shelf. "Ah, I didn't think I'd be seeing you again, my dear…"

"Seeing me again?"

"Mr. Oliviander, this is Dawn Summers. She's shopping for her _first_ wand."

Oliviander gave McGonagall a look that clearly said he didn't believe her but started rummaging through the shelves muttering to his customers.

"I've remembered every wand I've ever sold, make no mistake I remember you…If I tweaked the original…Ah yes, a special wand for a special girl; Willow, 9⅓ inches, hair of a slayer."

Dawn shifted so that the dagger she kept at her waist was in easy reach should she need it. This old man was making her very uncomfortable and McGonagall too by the looks of it.

Oliviander stopped looking through the boxes on the main wall and went over to a dustier shelf towards the back of the shop. He looked around. These were his 'special' wands. Their core's were very unusual- demon blood, hippogriff hair, troll mucus, and much more. He pondered what wand to pick out.

The first time _she'd_ been in his shop, he'd used the hair of a slayer, but he had no more wands with that core, or any other slayer core for that matter. The last had been sold to Tara McClay sixteen years ago and what a waste that was- her father had snapped it before she could do three spells.

He stuck with the Willow combination with the original length. That had worked well for her when she'd come into his shop sixteen years ago. It was lucky he didn't get surprised at anything or he'd have died of a heart attack when he saw her again. She looked different, but there was no mistaking her aura.

He felt inexplicably drawn to one box and pulled it out, not questioning his instincts although the choice interested him. "Give it a wave, my dear."

Dawn took the wand cautiously and waved it though the air. A shower of green sparks flew out the end and they were accompanied by a low humming sound that a generator might make.

Oliviander smiled gleefully. "A match first time. Willow wood, 9⅓ inches, blood of a vampire."

"A vampire?" Dawn yelped.

"Yes, but this was a vampire unlike any other. He donated his blood about fifty years ago. That would make it about one hundred years after he was blessed with his soul, or cursed with it you might say. He fed upon the wrong girl and was-"

"Cursed by gypsies." Dawn groaned.

"You've heard of it."

"Only a million times and I lived through the second re-ensouling spell…kind of. Besides, I know the vampire."

Oliviander's eyes opened wide in wonder. "You know the vampire Angelus?"

"Yes, well no. I knew the vampire Angel. He died about seven years ago." Dawn said sadly.

Oliviander smiled with sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"S'okay. So this has Angel's blood? Buffy's gonna freak."

"About the blood?"

"About the vampire."

"I see." Oliviander said although he clearly didn't.

Dawn looked down at the wand in her hand. It was rather plain but she was pleased to see that the end of it had been tapered into a point that would make a great stake. She thought about the contents. Angel's blood. Angel was Spike's grand-sire, even if they tried to deny it so that meant it had Spike's blood too. She sighed. "It's always about the blood."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Dawn swished and flicked her wand, but once again the feather zoomed out of control. A week after she'd arrived at Hogwarts Dumbledore had suggested giving her magic lessons. Dawn had gladly accepted and a couple of days after that he'd set up a timetable. This was her first lesson and it wasn't going so well.

"What am I doing wrong?" She asked as the feather continued to zoom.

It had already done two laps of the classroom and looked like it was about to join the others stuck in the ceiling when it took a steep dive towards Professor Flitwick. He jumped aside and narrowly avoided having a feather up his ass. The feather finally stopped as it crashed into Dawn's desk.

Professor Flitwick scratched his head in confusion. "You're doing everything correctly. It should be working. The incantation is right, the wand movement is correct and you obviously have magic within you, you just can't seem to access it. Still you've set two feathers on fire, embedded three in the ceiling and I am covered in injuries. Hmmm, maybe you should try it again?"

Dawn raised one eyebrow. "Sure you wanna risk it? Okay, but remember I warned you. Wingardium Leviosa!"

Once again the feather rose. But this time it only went about two feet and then imploded into a cloud of gold dust which fell on them.

Dawn clapped her hands like a delighted schoolchild, much to Flitwick's amusement; he'd seen more mature first years! "Oooh; feather go poof!"

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"Postulo Transformus!" A flash of light then nothing. "It's not working."

"I can see that Miss Summers." McGonagall said irritably.

"The same thing happened with Professor Flitwick." Dawn twirled her wand around in her hand.

"What?"

"He said I was doing everything right and I and the power but I couldn't access it. Or something like that."

McGonagall frowned. Could this have something to do with the transformation? "I wouldn't worry Miss Summers, it's only your first lesson and you only picked up a wand for the first time last week. Are you having any problems with the incantations?"

"Nope. They're mostly Latin so I get them. Plus they all seem kinda familiar. Stupid I know…maybe I've heard Willow do them or something."

McGonagall smiled weakly. She had a feeling that that wasn't why they were so familiar to her, but it wasn't time to tell her that yet. "Maybe."

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"I'm so sorry!" Dawn gushed as she ran into Dumbledore's office where McGonagall and Snape already sat.

"You're late." Snape snarled at her.

"My class overran; I said I was sorry, okay?" She'd been at Hogwarts for two weeks, yet she'd found out very little about Voldemort. Dumbledore hadn't told her anything of any use and she was beginning to have more suspicions about why she was there. But this was the first time Giles had let her do something major by herself and she wasn't going back until she knew a bit more about the situation.

"Perfectly alright Miss Summers. The reason I asked you here is because I have heard you have some experience with the issue I am about to tell you. Minerva and Severus are here as members of the order of the phoenix."

"Okay. So, what's the what?"

"We have found a prophecy-"

Snape snorted. He still hated her even after a fortnight of sucking up. Now Dawn had just given up. It wasn't like she really wanted to be friends with the slime ball anyway. "What could _she_ know about prophecies?"

"Well, I've been around them for fifteen years and I've constantly been decrypting them for the last eight." Dawn boasted.

"Indeed. This prophecy was spoken by a member of our staff only hours ago. She, of course, remembers nothing but I am convinced it is true." Dumbledore said.

"It might be true, but it's not necessarily the whole truth." Dawn pointed out.

McGonagall snorted. "It might not be true at all."

Dumbledore shot her a reproachful look. "It is unlike any prophecy I've ever seen. It is in verse and longer than most, but I have heard it before. When I was first teaching here, Professor Trawnely's ancestor was our divination professor and she told me of it then, but as the years went by I forgot it. However I believe it may help us fight Voldemort."

Snape eyed him curiously. "How?"

"It speaks of a team of fighters; that much I can tell. But the rest is in riddles."

"All true prophecies always are." Dawn commented, dreading the moment when Dumbledore read out the prediction.

Dumbledore nodded. "It's just up here…" He turned away from the group and started rummaging through a sheaf of papers on the shelf behind him.

Snape caught Dawn's attention and rolled his eyes at her. She glared back. He then, in a very immature moment, tried to mimic her silently. 'All true prophecies always are!'

Dawn glared harder. "Professor Dumbledore, I accidentally killed Snape. That's okay, right?"

"Just a minute…Ah, here it is. I shall read it through first and then we shall try to decipher it."

The other three occupants of the room nodded and Dumbledore began.

xxx

"She who springs from tears of Eve is born again,  
But the connection stays and the line must remain.  
This is the last, yet never before  
'Tis power so bright, so strong and so pure.  
The witches' saviour, the wizards' knight,  
The Trojka shall fight for all that is right."

"But for the light to come to pass,  
She must be found in shadows evil doth cast.  
When she is restored, the power unlocked,  
Her comrades shall come and the rest will flock."

"The first is chosen, the second is fate,  
The third is the link whom carries a freight.  
Thrice the blood of a champion, Thrice have evils mark,  
Thrice the hero, thrice the sin and thrice the touch of the dark."

"The identities of Trojka you must discover  
Look through this puzzle for clues to uncover.  
Heed my words and learn them well.  
As for riddles spoken, only time shall tell."

xxx

As the prophecy ended, the grouped looked at each other, none of them really knowing what to say; none of them really knowing what it meant. How were they supposed to figure that out? How would it help to defeat Voldemort? Dawn looked around the confused professors and managed to sum up the way they were all feeling in only two words:

"Oh shit."

* * *

What do you think of the prophecy? Is it okay? 

Surely everyone must be able to guess who the vessel is now! I've dropped enough hints! You'll find out for certain next chapter…probably. Until then, _please Review! _


	6. The Tears of Eve

**Thanks to the reviewers:**

**The Lady Morgaine:** Thanks for the review, I love Malfoy too- it's so fun to write!

**Virginia**: It's more Angel's influence that got her the job at W&H rather than Angel himself. Thanks for reviewing.

**Juzblu**: Definitely no Snape/ Dawn- waaaaay too gross! The vessel's identity is revealed this chapter…

**Tap Dancing Willow:** Buffy will find out about the wand at some point and I suppose Angel didn't have to die, but he wasn't going to be in the story even if he lived. Thanks for reading and reviewing :)

**SeleneA**: Thanks for reading and reviewing, you'll find out for sure this chapter.

**Charmed-angel4**: Wow- that was one very long review! You'll find out if you're right this chapter. Keep reviewing!

**A/N:** Just so you know, the books will be edited quite heavily in this story. If I don't change it, it happened as in the book though.

From this chapter onwards, I will be revealing more about Lily's life, or more accurately her death, and how Dawn remembers it. I realised that there wasn't really that much 'foundation' in this story, so I've decided to add a few 'memory scenes' so you can get my version of the character's background. These scenes are to be indicated by a series of m's.

_This chapter is for Matt- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_

**CHAPTER SIX: THE TEARS OF EVE**

"She who springs from tears of Eve is born again, but the connection stays and the line must remain."

"Okay anyone got any ideas on that? Because I'm coming up with a big zero." Dawn said lightly.

"Miss Summers;" Snape started, "this is not a laughing matter."

"You think I don't know that? Now, do you have any ideas what that means? No? Okay, next bit please."

"This is the last, yet never before, tis power so bright, so strong and so pure. The witches' saviour, the wizards' knight, The Trojka shall fight for all that is right." Dumbledore read out. "Fairly self explanatory. A force most powerful than anything we've seen before or will see again will save the witches and wizards."

"And there are three of them." Dawn added.

"How, pray tell, did you find that from those few lines." Snape said sounding bored.

Dawn smirked. "Trojka is Czech for three. The Trojka means The Three."

"But for the light to come to pass, she must be found in shadows evil doth cast." Dumbledore put in to stop the argument brewing.

Dawn shrugged. "Not a clue."

"When she is restored, the power unlocked, her comrades shall come and the rest will flock."

"Looks like you need the key." Dawn quipped.

"Yes I think we do." Dumbledore said mysteriously, sending a significant look towards McGonagall.

Dawn's eyes widened and she sat up a little straighter. "What?"

"You are the key are you not?"

"How did you find out about that?" Dawn asked stiffly.

"The key is legendary in the wizarding world, so legendary that very few people know about it. But I have keep 'tabs' on it. You were changed into your current form ten years ago by a group of monks?"

"Yes."

"Then I believe you are the key, pardon the pun, to our problem. Shall we get on?"

Dawn nodded, still not fully understanding what Dumbledore was saying, but it could wait.

"The first is chosen, the second is fate, the third is the link whom carries a freight."

"A slayer? They're chosen." Dawn suggested.

Dumbledore nodded. "It's a possibility… Thrice the blood of a champion, Thrice have evils mark, Thrice the hero, thrice the sin and thrice the touch of the dark."

"The identities of Trojka you must discover look through this puzzle for clues to uncover. Heed my words and learn them well. As for riddles spoken; only time shall tell." Dumbledore finished. "Again fairly self explanatory. Find this Trojka or the world is doomed, same old, same old. Toffee bon-bon anyone?"

"Ooh, yes please!"

"Professor, how can you be thinking of food at a time like this?" Snape said sharply.

"Have a little faith, Severus."

"Yeah, Sevie. Have a little faith." Dawn mimicked with a mouthful of bon-bon.

Snape glowered at the girl. "If that is all then I have a lesson to prepare."

McGonagall also get up. "And I have detention to supervise. The Weasly twins again. If they were to use their brains for something other than tricks and jokes they would be the best students in the year." She sighed.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Very well Severus, Minerva. I'll speak to you later."

When the professors had left, Dawn turned to Dumbledore. "What did you mean about the key? I know there's more than what you were saying."

"Very observant, Miss Summers. I believe that this part tells us about you:

"But for the light to come to pass, she must be found in shadows evil doth cast. When she is restored, the power unlocked, her comrades shall come and the rest will flock."

"How'd you get me from that?"

"I did find you at Wolfram and Hart offices, in the shadows evil doth cast one might say. The power to be unlocked could either be the keys power or the vessels power, I'm not sure."

"The what now? Vessel? What vessel? No-one told me anything about a vessel."

"Where did you think your body came from?" Dumbledore argued reasonably.

"I don't know, the monks made it?" Dawn said hopefully. This didn't sound like something she'd want to hear.

"Then how do you explain the memories you've been recalling? No, the monks put several glamour's on the body of a then recently deceased woman but I believe they were distracted as they channelled the Key into the vessels body which would account for you remembering your previous life."

Dawn stared at him dumbly. It wasn't as bad as Buffy dying or finding out she was the Key, but it was still a shock. "Who was this vessel?"

"A young witch that I had the pleasure of teaching. Her name was Lily Potter."

"No, that's impossible! She's dead, she died to save…I'm not even the right age!"

"As I said, the monk's put several irreversible glamour's on the body."

"No! You're lying! You're lying!" Dawn shouted as she fled from the office.

Dumbledore didn't move from the chair in his office. "Well she took that better than I thought she would."

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Dawn ran through the corridors, oblivious to the students surprise at one of their professors streaming down the halls. It couldn't be true, could it?

"Professor?"

She dimly noted one of her pupils shout after her, but was too out of it to really notice it. She didn't even realise that two students were following her and she'd always know when she was being followed before.

Things made more sense this way. The dreams, the memories, the body. None of it was hers. It belonged to someone else. And that someone had died to save her son.

She collapsed against her portrait.

"Pro-fesor." Harry panted. "Are…you…okay?"

This was the last person she wanted to see right now. Dawn took a couple of deep breaths and tried to look as normal as possible. "I'm fine thanks."

"Why…running?" Ron gasped.

"Exercise." Dawn suggested. "I had to get back to my room for something."

"Oh, right."

"Did you want something?" Dawn asked cheerfully. 'Please say no, please say no.'

"No."

"Right then…see you at dinner?" She hinted heavily.

"Yeah sure." The boys headed back down the hall and Dawn whispered the password and entered her room.

Ron looked back over his shoulder. "Well I guess that's over."

"I don't think she was telling us the truth." Harry confided.

Ron thought back. "She did seem glad to be rid of us."

"I get this weird feeling whenever I'm around her. There's something odd about her, and I've never seen her use any magic."

Ron thought again. "Neither have I… you don't think she's hiding or something and doesn't want to be traced by her magic?"

"Could you do that?" Harry asked wide eyed.

"My Dad said that…I don't know, some guy, was doing that so he wasn't arrested. All spells leave magical signatures or something like that so if a wizard's doing something illegal then they'd use a different wand; Dad says all the death eaters do it."

"But Dumbledore wouldn't let her teach us if she was evil, would he?"

"Of course not." Replied Ron, but this voice lacked conviction. "Unless he didn't know."

"I'm sure he'd know, wouldn't he?" Harry asked doubtfully.

"Sure." Ron replied, but both were thinking otherwise.

"Do you think we should tell someone?"

"No, I'm sure she's not evil…she half killed Malfoy." Ron said with a grin.

Harry laughed. "Yeah! But maybe we should keep an eye on her for a while? Make sure she doesn't try to kill anyone other than Malfoy?"

"If ya like. Oh bloody hell, we're gonna be late for dinner…move it!"

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

_1st November 1994 – 1:53 pm_

Dumbledore sat in shock. Sirius Black; a murderer? Surely not; and defiantly not of James and Lily Potter! Not one day ago he'd seen the love shared between those three people and little Harry and now two of them were dead, Harry was staying with a horrible pair of muggles and Black was in the Azkaban for being a death eater!

But a street full of muggles had seen Peter Pettigrew confront him about his involvement and then be murdered for his troubles. Poor Peter. He could never have taken Sirius in a duel, especially if Sirius had lived up to his family name and lost all of his morals. It was in his blood after all.

Despite all the celebrating, it was still a bleak day in the wizarding world.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Dawn didn't go to dinner. Dumbledore didn't expect her to. She'd had had a bit of a shock to say the least and was probable feeling angry and hurt. But she still had to be told or the keys energy would effectively combust and destroy her.

Dumbledore rose from his seat and briefly informed the students about the Halloween festivities that would be occurring in a little over a week. He then left the table and called Tally, one of the house elves.

"Could you please deliver this to Miss Summers' quarters, Tally? I believe she may wish to speak with her family."

The little elf took the small parcel and disappeared with a pop. Two seconds later she was standing outside the picture of a Werewolf that signalled the entrance to Dawn's room. She knocked on the door. "Miss Dawn?"

The portrait opened and Dawn looked out, hiding her surprise at seeing an elf as best she could.

"Yes?" She asked wearily.

"Mr. Dumbledore asks Tally to give you this, Miss. He says you wishes to talk to your family."

Dawn took the package. "Thank you, Tally."

The elf's eyes filled with tears. "You should not be thanking Tally, Miss. I will leave you now."

The elf popped away leaving Dawn a bit confused. But she put it down to another oddity of the wizarding world and went back into the room. She sat on her bed and ripped the brown paper off the object. What she saw brought a small smile to her face; a phone, but who to call?

After a moment Dawn dialled the number for the slaying centre. It rang once, twice, and then someone picked up.

"Hi, it's Dawn. Is Giles there?" The slayer on the other end of the line scuttled off to find him.

"Dawn?" His voice crackled through the magical spells.

"Heya Giles. How've you been?"

"We're all fine. What's this about Dawn? Not that it's not great to hear from you, but we got your last letter two days ago and I thought you couldn't use phones at Hogwarts?"

"You can't, I guess Dumbledore charmed this for me. He thought I might want to talk to my family." Dawn blinked back a few tears, but managed to keep her voice sounding fairly normal.

"He thought that you'd want to speak with your family? Dawn, what's wrong?" Giles asked panicked.

"Did you know about a vessel? Please tell me you didn't."

"Oh." Then there was silence. He had known. "Dawn, you're still Dawn. This doesn't mean anything; we all love you no matter what."

"You knew? You know that I was made of a dead girl and you didn't tell me?" Ten years ago she would have been yelling at him, but now she didn't have the energy.

"We didn't think it would matter. First Glory and then with Buffy dying, we didn't want to hurt you." Giles said trying to be comforting, but comforting people wasn't his strong point.

"You didn't think it would matter? How could it not matter? Did you know who she was?"

"Of course not. Dawn, what's happened?" His voice cracked. If Dawn didn't feel so tired then she'd almost feel sorry for him.

"There's a prophecy. It mentioned the key indirectly and Dumbledore said something about me unlocking the vessels potential."

"Did he say who the vessel was?"

"Yes." Dawn took a shuddering breath. "Giles, its Lily Potter."

"Bloody hell." Giles whispered.

"He said that I didn't look like her because of all these glamour's and stuff, but that explains the dreams and why I kept thinking I'd heard all this magic stuff before."

"I'm so sorry Dawn. We should have told you, do you want to come home?"

Dawn thought for a moment; could she bear to be around them when they'd lied to her? "Not right now, no."

On the other end of the line, Giles flinched. That hurt more than anything she'd said so far. "Okay," he whispered; "but if you need anything at all…"

"I know. Bye Giles." She sounded tired, but apart from that there was little emotion in her voice.

"Good bye, Dawn."

Dawn hung up the phone feeling exhausted. She didn't want to think about this now. She lay down on the bed and buried her face in the pillows.

Things would be better in the morning.

Maybe.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

_1st November 1994 – 10:04 am_

The day after the Potter's death, there had been many a celebration. Voldemort was 'gone' and the wizarding world could life in peace once again. One of very few people that weren't celebrating was Sirius Black.

He'd lost his best friend and another very good friend. He'd even lost his godson as Dumbledore had insisted on taking him elsewhere. He couldn't understand it. Had something gone wrong with the protection charms? The only way for someone to figure out where James and Lily were hiding was for Peter to tell them, and he'd never betray them.

He thought back on his times with Lily and James. Prongs had developed his crush on her when he was fourteen, towards the end of the third year. He'd asked her out about a hundred times and each time she'd shot him down without mercy, earning her the nickname Tigerlily. Still he'd persisted for over two years, hoping desperately to wear her down. Eventually he'd managed it. In the sixth year, Lily had responded to Prongs' question with: "I'll give you one date, Potter, if you promise never to ask me again."

After that date, Tigerlily had been different towards him. She'd seen the real Prongs and liked it. She now knew that he could be mature and he could carry an interesting conversation. Most of all, she knew he could be a gentleman and they had gone out again and again. Sirius knew that the pair had corresponded very regularly throughout the summer and when Lily was made head girl, Remus (the head boy) had informed Padfoot that the Tigerlily and Prongs were making good use of the private suite that the head students of Hogwarts were privileged to have.

Then they had got married. Sirius hadn't known at the time why they had got hitched so quickly, but it was obvious to him that they were in love so he didn't question it. When Harry was born three months later, three weeks after James' parents death; he had been surprised and hurt. He knew Lily was capable of keeping it a secret from him, both in her magical abilities and in her character, but James was another matter. They had always shared everything. But then he was asked to be Godfather and it was one of the happiest times in his life. He spent half his time with the newly weds and most of the rest working for the order. He had gotten to know Lily better, all the marauders had, and they had formed a strong friendship as well as making a good relationship with little Harry.

But now all of that was gone and wouldn't be coming back.

Sirius put his thoughts aside. He had to talk to Peter, maybe he'd accidentally let slip. A wave of nausea swept though his body. Maybe it wasn't such an accident. He knew what telling other people could mean yet, apparently, he'd done it. Sirius had to talk to Peter now!

Half an hour later, Sirius was staring down the butt of Peter's wand as he successfully got himself off the hook for murder and then got rid of the only person who knew he was responsible.

Peter Pettigrew was a free rat.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The next morning dawned bright and clear. It signalled the first quiditch match of the school year, Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff. Not as exciting as Gryffindor or Slytherin matches, but there was still lots of anticipation about it.

The quiditch teams piled their plates with food and spoke with false bravado about the upcoming game, but across the school, Dawn Summers was tossing and turning in her sleep.

It was the same as last time at first, the running from the shadow. But this time, before it killed her, the shadow transformed into Tara.

"She who springs from the tears of Eve has been born again but the connection stays and the line must remain."

"What? Tara, I don't understand."

"What's in a name, Dawnie? You'll figure it out." Tara said reassuringly.

A shadow surrounded Tara and she was replaced by Harry, but the shadow kept swirling. "You think you know what you are, what's to come? You've only just begun."

The shadow overtook him and plunged into her like last time. But, just before it would hit her, she woke up into another nightmare. A much more real nightmare.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She wondered through the grounds. Could this really be happening? Was it just a horrible dream that she'd be woken from and would laugh about later? No- it was real alright. There was some stuff that made more sense now though, for example the feelings of loss and that someone was missing- James. She couldn't grieve for him yet though, that would be making it way too real.

She was distracted by a gasp from a first floor window closely followed by a thud near one of the walls and a groan from a red headed student.

"Are you alright?" She asked running over.

"Fine." He groaned. He looked over as his twin brother dashed out the doorway. "I think we were a bit premature in testing the 'soaring sweets', Fred. I most certainly didn't soar as much as fall."

"That you did, George. Maybe if we added more essence of an eagle…"

Dawn smiled in spite of herself. "Maybe you shouldn't be making dangerous products and then jumping out of windows."

"It was only the first floor."

"And we would never endanger ourselves-"

"-Intentionally."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Very few people ever do. Go on, aren't you going to the quiditch match?"

"Of course-"

"-we're on the Gryffindor team-"

"-so we have to check out the competition."

"See ya professor." They chorused and they ran off, to the stadium presumably.

Dawn shook her head- they would kill themselves if they went on like that.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dawn was the only person in the library, except for Madam Prince, of course. Everyone else was at the quiditch match.

Dawn had decided that her dream-problem was probably easier to sort out than her life-problem, even though she had the strangest feeling that they were linked. Maybe it was because Harry turned up or because she didn't understand either of them.

She had a scrap of paper in front of her. Everything Tara had said from the dream was on it.

"What's in a name?" That's what Tara had said. Well, names had meanings didn't they?

Dawn hunted down a name origins book and flicked through until she found…

Dawn; New Beginnings.

How sickenly appropriate.

Hesitantly, she looked up Lily.

Lily; Pure. NAME FACT: in the bible, lilies were said to blossom from the tears of Eve as she was banished from paradise.

Oh hell no!

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Uh-oh! I don't really know what's going to happen next! That never bodes well! Harry will find out about Dawn at some point, but I think next chapter's a bit too soon. It'll probably be more of Dawn dealing with it, maybe some uncovering of memories and probably Halloween, yay!


	7. Of Trojka's, Troll's & Teachers

**Thanks to reviewers:**

**The Lady Morgaine:** I have to admit, it didn't take very long to find out the name meanings. I work in a book store at the weekends and one of the girls there is called Lily. I just thought it was a cool fact to put into the prophecy :) She will develop a mother's instinct, but over time. Gotta love dream Tara! Thanks for reviewing.

**Charmed-angel 4:** Names are weird things, but their various meanings are cool! I decided to go in a different route for the Trojka, but all will be revealed in the next thirteen pages (unlucky for some!) Thanks for reviewing.

**Juzblu**: Thanks for reading and reviewing

**Slinky-and-the-BloodyWands**: Hope you liked the rest of the story. Keep on reviewing!

**Velara**: Oops- thanks for the correction. She'll be Madam Pince in all future chapters. Thanks for reviewing.

**Virginia**: I had a prologue, and when I got your review I started the first chapter. I've gotten back into the story and _hopefully_ I'll start posting within the next month. Thanks for reviewing (and keep bugging me about the WW sequel!)

**Matt**: Thanks for betaing, you're the best!

**A/N:** After this chapter, this will most likely go off in a totally different direction to the books to make the story work.

I will be revealing more about Lily's life and how Dawn remembers it. I realised that there wasn't really that much 'foundation' in this story, so I've decided to add a few 'memory scenes' so you can get my version of the character's background. These scenes are to be indicated by a series of m's.

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN: OF TROKJA'S, TROLL'S AND TEACHERS**

"Did you know about this?" Dawn stormed into Dumbledore's office.

"Ah Miss Summers, I do not know of what you speak so I will have to go with…yes?"

"This prophecy; Lily means the tears of Eve?"

"Oh so you figured it out? Well done!" Dumbledore smiled happily, but then saw the look on Dawn's face. "Problem?"

"You say I'm this Lily-"

"You are her." Dumbledore inserted, but Dawn ignored him.

"-and she appears to be part of this Trojka."

"Yes…you are…and?" He asked innocently.

"And? You never thought to mention this?"

"You learnt it on your own. Always a valuable experience when you do something by yourself."

Dawn stared at him incredulously. "You didn't think I deserved to know something that's going to affect my life in a pretty big way?"

He smiled triumphantly. "Yes. It will affect _your_ life. I'm glad you've admitted that. Was that all?"

"All... what…I mean." Dawn spluttered. Dumbledore would make a great chess player; he was always about fifty moves ahead of everyone else.

"You were perhaps curious about what the rest of the prophecy means?" Dawn nodded dumbly. "It just so happens that I have a spare copy right here. So…I would be interested to hear any thoughts you'd have on the matter."

Dawn nodded again and took the paper offered.

"Miss Summers?" Dumbledore called out at Dawn prepared to leave. "Will you be continuing with your classes on Monday?"

"Err, yea. I guess."

"Excellent! Well I'll see you this afternoon I expect, with your thoughts on the prophecy, yes?"

She nodded again. It was not until she left Dumbledore's office that she regained her power of speech and could put her thoughts into something resembling order.

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Dawn sat in the staff room trying to figure out the prophecy. She'd decided that the chosen one comment either referred to Buffy or Faith as they were the only current slayers that were actually _chosen_. Out of the two it was most likely to be Buffy as Faith was off god knows where doing god knows who and Buffy had been marked as a champion by the powers where as Faith were just a slayer.

She was the only one in the staff room so she had nabbed the comfiest chair. It was made of soft burgundy velvet and faced the fire. Professor Snape almost walked in, but when he saw the brunette sitting with her back to him he froze in his tracks. He disliked the American girl intensely, but she had gained just a smidgen of his respect when he realised her intelligence. But only a smidgen and he would never let her know that she had even gained that.

He had previously believed that her presence at Hogwarts was purely due to her dysfunctional 'family' contacts, but she had since demonstrated a knowledge on several ancient languages, prophesies and demonology as well as a few other obscure subjects that only a learned person would know he had realised that she may in fact have some use to their cause. But that didn't mean he had to like her.

He began to back out slowly, careful not to let Dawn hear him and then…

"It's a big staffroom; you can ignore me quite easily in here."

Drat. "How did you know I was here?"

"Duh! Dumbledore told you the deal about me? Made from a slayer. Ring any bells?"

Snape scowled inwardly, but kept his usual indifferent sneer on the outside. "I wasn't made aware that you possessed any…powers."

"Well I don't really, just the same as the child of a slayer would have; enhanced senses and an aptitude for fighting."

Snape sighed seemingly unimpressed but storing this information away for future reference. "Is that it?" He sneered nastily.

Dawn narrowed her eyes. "Yes."

"They let you into a rather highly regarded council with those qualifications? And a small amount of knowledge of prophecies and ancient languages? It really was a case of the lunatics taking over the asylum, wasn't it?" Snape scorned.

"God, what is your problem? I've never done anything to you but you've been a total ass to me! I never even met you before I came here!"

"No; _you_ didn't." Snape admitted.

"What does that- oh. " Dawn paused, thinking of the best way to phrase her question. "Did you know Lily?"

Snape allowed a small smile to grace his features. "We were in school together. She was the only Gryffindor I could bear to be around and then she married Potter and went around with the rest of his idiotic groupies."

"That's why you're being so mean? 'Cause I-she married James? Well that's dumb!"

Snape glared back at the young lady standing in front of him. She certainly had Evans' fire, but she was a good two inches taller than the red headed girl making _that_ glare more intimidating. But Severus Snape was not about to be intimidated by a little girl, so he glared harder before sweeping out of the staff room to go and tell Dumbledore about the meanie new teacher.

And to sulk. He was rather fond of sulking.

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"Come in, Miss Summers, I've been expecting you."

'Well duh!' Dawn almost said; he did ask her to come this afternoon to talk prophecies.

"You've been investigating the prophecy? And I trust that you have identified the most likely members of the Trojka?"

"I guess." Dawn stammered.

"Marvellous! So, what do you think that Harry, the elder Miss Summers and yourself should do? That is who you believe to be mention, correct?"

"That does kinda make sense; Buffy's chosen, Lilly's- I'm the tears of Eve and Harry's 'the line'." Dawn admitted.

"Yes. All three of you have been hunted, marked and touched by evil. And all of you are champions."

"I'm no champion." Dawn said quietly.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Can't you see that you are? Miss Summers, when I found you at Wolfram and Hart, I did a lot of research before I approached you again. I know that, since you technically existed, you have evolved from a bratty sister, if you'll pardon the expression, to a brave warrior. Unless I am very much mistaken, you offered to close the portal that the essence of the key created, did you not?"

"I didn't stop Buffy though, did I?"

"My dear, do you honestly think that you could stop your sister from doing anything? Anyway, since then you have fought alongside various slayers without superpowers and quite often at a severe disadvantage, yet you are still here…fighting."

"You never stop fighting." Dawn muttered under her breath.

"Pardon?"

"Buffy told me once that you never stop fighting, no matter what… cause that moment that you stop, you lose all hope and you die."

Dumbledore smiled softly. "A very bright woman, your sister."

Dawn crinkled up her nose, but then when she thought about it. Buffy was no genius, but she did make sense…sometimes. "Yeah, well…I've still got some things that I need to do, so…"

"Certainly, Miss Summers. My door is always open."

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

_31st October 1994 – 11:58 pm_

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off –"

" No James, I can't..."

"Just go!" James Potter pushed his wife towards the staircase, their baby son held tightly in her arms.

Lily cast one last look back to her husband before stumbling up the stairs and into baby Harry's bedroom.

She closed the door behind her as she heard Voldemort's evil cackle fill the room. He was here. Peter had betrayed them. Lily clutched Harry tightly to her chest, praying for James to somehow defeat the dark wizard. But her hopes were dashed as she heard a hissing voice say those two permanent words; Avada Kedavra.

A green light seemed to fill the entire building. Her soul mate was gone, ruthlessly killed. What did it matter anymore? Harry stirred in her arms; she still had one more thing to fight for.

She heard the footsteps come slowly up the stairs. Thud, thud, thud. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. No fireplace to floo from and apparition wards due to the 'secret keeper' spell that was still activated so there really was no escape. Thud, thud, thud. This was it; the end.

The door burst open and Voldemort stepped inside smirking cruelly. Lily stepped back and turned Harry's face into her breast so he wouldn't have to see the monster in front of him.

"Please..." Lily begged. "No...not Harry." She felt Harry's crib jut into her back as she backed up. Lily made an instant decision and put the squirming baby into the cot and shielded him with her body. She'd do everything she could to save him.

"Stand aside!" Voldemort said forcefully.

"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please - I'll do anything –" Lily pleaded.

"Stand aside, girl!" Voldemort said, his red slit eyes glowing at the girl's defiance.

"Harry, not Harry... Please not Harry... Take me instead!" Lily begged uselessly. Anything to keep Harry safe.

Voldemort gave her a cruel smirk, and lifted his wand; he didn't really care who he killed as long as the boy died. "Avada Kedavra".

Lily closed her eyes as a jet of green light headed towards her.

And then Dawn woke up.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Dawn hurried into the classroom, not forgetting her nightmare from much earlier that Halloween morning; the ten year anniversary since James and Lily's supposed death. "Sorry, sorry."

Harry and Ron exchanged looks while Draco and a few other Slytherin's sniggered. Professor Summers was nearly twenty minutes late and she looked tired and shrivelled. Her hair had little kinks in it like she hadn't had time to brush it properly, the robe that had been slung on over a pair of jeans and a white tee was crumpled and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Sorry I'm late, right…umm…everyone get into pairs." Dawn fumbled with the papers on her desk, where was the damn lesson plan? It couldn't just vanish, oh wait, this was a magic school; things were vanishing all the time! "Right, err…if you just start on the warm up I showed you last lesson and then we'll…do something else."

The various duos around the room started on the breathing and stretching exercises, none of them knowing why their teacher was acting so strangely.

Dawn was still shuffling through the papers in hope of finding the carefully drawn out plans that had been made for all of her classes. She was so engrossed in her task, that she didn't notice the whispers going around the classroom.

"I heard that she's insane!" On girl would say.

The other students would gasp in astonishment. "What?" "No!" "Never!"

"Yes; Rhonda from Ravenclaw says that she has this long scar down her forearm."

"So?"

"So if a muggle gets depressed and wants to kill themselves then they sometimes cut themselves…there."

More astonished gasps would follow and then the news would be passed on until all the occupants of the room had heard that Professor Summers was a knife waving loon who once cut herself before gutting a horde of innocent bystanders.

"Well it's hardly surprising really." Draco proclaimed pompously after hearing the tale. "I mean she is from _Sunnydale_!"

Harry, Ron and several others didn't understand this statement. "What's in Sunnydale?"

"Nothing anymore. But it used to be a hellmouth." Pansy Parkinson sneered.

Seeing that most of the class still didn't understand, Hermione took the opportunity to show off her knowledge on the subject. "The hellmouth is so full of dark magix that it can overload a witch or a wizard or anything magically inclined really. There are only a few things powerful enough to fight it, and the rest…"

"What?" Semus asked, the whole class for once interested in what Hermione was saying.

"If you're lucky you just go insane, if your not then the darkness consumes you and makes you part of it."

Dawn looked up and noticed that none of the group was doing what they were supposed to. "Hey you lot, get back to it."

Draco began to saunter over to his partner. "That's what the old crank gets for letting mudbloods and muggles into the school." He muttered, not expecting his teacher to hear.

"What was that Mr. Malfoy?"

"Nothing Professor." He lied.

Dawn went over to him. "You really picked the wrong day for this, kid."

"The wrong day for what, Professor?" He asked innocently.

It didn't take much to set the stressed former-hellmouth-habitant off and Draco had just rubbed her up the wrong way. "You think you're so much better than everyone, don't you? Well newsflash- you're not. You think that your magic makes you more powerful, but I know over a hundred 'muggles' that could kill you in an instant and I happen to be one of them, so think before you insult me or my family in this classroom, okay?" Okay? She repeated, lowering her voice from the almost-shout that it had become.

Draco was actually scared. This muggle born teacher was dangerous, he could tell by the look in her eyes. "Y-yes, Professor."

"Fifty points from Slytherin. Back to work. Now!"

Harry and Ron returned to their warm-ups, pleased by Malfoy getting a well deserved dressing down, but they both had the same question on their minds; was Professor Summers strong enough to resist the hellmouth magix? Or was she crazy or evil?

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"Professor Summers!"

She stopped reluctantly.

"I want a word with you."

"I thought you might." She sighed.

"Why did you take fifty points off Slytherin in one go?"

"One of your students called me a mudblood." Snape gave her a look that clearly said 'so?' "He shouldn't insult what he doesn't understand."

"Or maybe he does understand." Snape said as cruelly as he could.

"He doesn't."

Snape noticed the crowd gathering around them and decided to end the 'conversation'. "We'll speak again, Summers."

She sighed wearily again. "Whatever."

He stormed off. She turned to head off in her original direction, but bumped right into the one student she was trying to avoid; Harry.

"Harry." She said, her voice catching in her throat as thoughts flooded her mind.

'Okay breath, it's not too bad. I mean who hasn't done this? Granted for most people it's not with the son they don't remember, but still…'

Dawn bent down to pick up the various articles that had scattered across the floor, the fact that it meant that she could avoid eye contact with Harry was just an added bonus. "I'm sorry, Harry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Err, yeah. Me neither." Harry mumbled embarrassed. "Sorry."

"It's okay, really." They fell into an awkward silence. Dawn finally allowed herself to look up at Harry.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. She was staring at him. "I better get to-"

"Right, right. Sorry. See you in class." Dawn stood still for a moment before heading off to her next class.

Harry walked off in the opposite direction.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Ron stepped out from where he was supposed to meet his friend.

Harry frowned in confusion. "I bumped into Professor Summers…literally."

"And?"

The frown deepened. "I don't know."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Could you be any more vague?"

"She was really…odd."

"Hmm, apparently so."

Harry tried to explain. "Odd, you know, distracted and awkward."

"So, do you think she's evil?" Ron asked flippantly.

"Don't know…you wanna get to potions?"

"No."

Harry grinned at his friend. "Shall we go anyway?"

Ron sighed. "Yeah, alright."

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The great hall had been decorated especially for the Halloween feast. There were many things that you'd expect to see, balloons and streamers, although they had a decidedly magical twist; but there were also hundreds of bats flying around the magical night time ceiling.

The students were feasting on the food in front of them and you could hear them talking and laughing. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She was doing it again.

It had started towards the beginning of the meal. Harry had had the strangest feeling that he was being watched. He'd turned around in his seat and had locked eyes with the new defence teacher, Professor Summers.

She'd held his gaze for a second, but then dropped her eyes back to her food. A moment later Harry had returned his attention back to the conversation his friends was having, but he wasn't fully focused on it. He had been surprised at the look on Professor Summers' face; she looked confused and sad… really sad.

She'd done it again a few minutes later, and then again, and again and again. And now she was doing it again.

'I will not turn around, I will not turn around.' Harry repeated in his head over and over. But why did she keep staring at him? He reached for another pumpkin pie, determined to ignore his professor.

"Troll!" Everyone's heads snapped round at the sound of the usually quiet DADA professor thundering into the hall. "Troll in the dungeons!" Professor Quirrell stopped. "Just thought you ought to know." His eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped in a dead faint.

Dumbledore immediately took control of the situation, not allowing any students to panic. "Prefects, escort your houses to their houses."

As the prefects started moving, Harry caught a glimpse of Professor Summers. She was following the rest of the staff who was going on a troll hunt and was carrying a shiny silver axe. Where had that come from? He didn't have time to ponder it further as Percy (who was really in his element) shooed him out of the hall.

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Dawn closed her eyes and called on whatever minor slayer awareness she had inherited from Buffy and the sensitivity she had gained from being constantly vigilant in Sunnydale. There was no troll down here, it must have moved.

"Professor McGonagall?" Dawn called.

"Yes Dawn?"

"There's no troll down here. I would have been able to sense it by now."

Snape snorted rudely from where he was searching, but McGonagall ignored him.

"Yes; it looks that way. The troll has somehow gone upstairs."

Snape nodded reluctantly in agreement and then he, Dawn and Professor McGonagall rushed up the stairs. When they got to the top they were greeted by Professor Flitwick.

"All the students are in their houses safely."

"Thank God." Dawn muttered.

Snape turned to her. "We've still got to find the troll and get rid of it- we're still in danger."

Before Dawn could reply a resounding crash echoed through the hall. The teachers set off at a run, but before they had gotten two feet towards where the noise had come from there was a frightened scream.

Snape looked up sharply. "Now may be a good time for you to resume your conversation with your almighty."

Dawn quickened her pace, darting in front of the older staff members. She burst into the girl's toilets and was surprised to see the troll unconscious. She looked around; expecting to see a staff member or possibly a seventh year, but what she saw was Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Are you okay?" She asked as Professors Snape and McGonagall entered.

"F-Fine." Ron stuttered his eyes wide and fixed on the troll on the floor.

Snape bent over the troll. It seemed to be unconscious, for the moment at least.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall furiously. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Harry and Ron looked at each other, neither knowing what to say. But they were saved by an unexpected source.

"Please, Professor McGonagall- they were looking for me." Hermione said, meekly getting to her feet. "I went looking for the troll because I-I thought I could deal with it on my own- you know, because I've read all about them."

Ron stared at Hermione disbelievingly while Harry tried to look as if the story wasn't new to him. McGonagall was to busy being all angry to notice the looks on the children's' faces, but Dawn saw the look; Hermione wasn't telling the truth.

"If they hadn't found me I'd be dead by now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

McGonagall stared at the tree of them slightly disbelievingly. "Well in that case…Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own. Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I'm very disappointed in you."

Dawn was studying the emotions on the students' faces and Snape watching smugly. Nobody noticed that the troll was regaining consciousness.

"If you're not hurt at all," McGonagall continued, "you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are-"

She was cut off by a sickening crunch. The troll had shifted slightly and alerted Dawn to what was happening. She had raised the axe she was holding and swung it down as hard as she could on the troll's neck. She was no slayer though, so the axe had only got about half way through the creatures thick neck.

While all the occupants of the toilet looked on wide eyed, Dawn pressed down on the axe handle with all the energy she could muster. There was another crunch as the bone snapped and the head rolled to a stop at Professor Snape's feet.

Professor McGonagall looked to the head and then back to Dawn again, her mouth gaping. Ron's lips had formed into a 'o' shape, Hermione looked sick and Harry was looking at the teacher curiously.

Dawn felt that she should give some kind of explanation for her actions, to break the silence and stop all those people from staring at her if nothing else. It was no big deal, Buffy had fought a _troll God_ and this was just a little minion. She shifted uncomfortably under the stares. "What? It was waking up!"

* * *

**A/N REGARDING 'HERMIONE'S HELLMOUTH TALES':** Willow was strong enough to resist the darkness except for that one fairly major glitch, same goes for most of the other Buffy characters. Dawn didn't practice magic enough on the hellmouth to be affected, and what she did do is what I'm classing as 'Wicca for beginners'. If anyone wants a clearer explanation of this, the prophecy, or anything else then just drop me a review or email and I'll respond to it!

Please Review; Kiara xxx


	8. Remember Remember, The Fifth of November

**THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL REVIEWERS:**

**The Lady Morgaine:** I think it's compulsory for someone to get the better of Snape in every BtVS/ HP crossover! Thanks for reading and reviewing- and cool job on Through the Looking Glass :)

**TTrunks: **Dawn is 24- it's ten years after the monks 'made' her. Thanks for reviewing.

**Gabrieldarke: **Thanks for reading and reviewing, I hope you like this chapter too.

**Penny01'S Email:** I have a confession to make; I have now read so many BtVS and HP stories that I am losing track of the 'reality' in the TV show or the books. Now I've been referring to the first HP book for a lot of this story, but if someone seems a little out of character or you can't remember a certain event happening quite like that in the books/ show then that's why. I'm sorry and please don't maul me for it! ;-) Thank for the email!

The dates are not real; I just wanted them like that to suit my devious needs! Or cause I forgot the actual dates…whatever.

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT: REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER**

_**SATURDAY 1st NOVEMBER-** First Day of Winter- Wrap Up Warmly!_

It was a bright and breezy Saturday morning. Trouble is that bright and breezy is British code for below freezing temperatures.

So that's it. British summer time has officially ended…when did it begin again? Ever since Dawn had moved to England nearly a year and a half ago and it had been almost a constant winter with occasional day of sun and in Scotland it was even worse. There had been floods since September and temperatures were _way_ into single figures.

And ruddy Dumbledore was making them sit in the freezing cold to watch basketball on broomsticks.

So that explains why Hogwarts' only born and bred Californian was searching through dozens of tank tops, hundreds of tees and thousands of 'light jumpers' to look for anything warm. She had finally settled on a pair of leather trousers and boots with a bottle green roll neck jumper over a white tank top. It seemed to be a Summers'-extended-family gene to own a minimum of one pair of leather trousers, even Xander had some!

Dawn took a last look in the mirror. She smiled shakily at her reflection. After going to her class looking like a, let's face it, total mess, she decided that now she looked fairly normal. Today, her shoulder length chestnut hair was straightened and flicked out at the ends and there was a touch of make-up accentuating her, some might say, overly large features.

She grabbed her cloak from where it was slung over a chair back and hurried out the door.

Apart from the whole freezing cold thing, she was quite looking forward to the quiditch game. She had never seen one before, for the last one (Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff) she had been holed up in the library...hey, wait a second! Why hadn't Dumbledore insisted she go to the last game?

Of course. Harry flaming Potter. At this point, Dawn was steadily ignoring the feeling of anxiety, excitement and sickness…one might say that it were the feeling a parent may get at their child's first quiditch match. But Dawn was in denial right now, so the feeling didn't exist.

A few minutes later Dawn took her seat in the spacious teachers box in between Professor Snape and Professor Sprout. Professor Sprout smiled a greeting, as did Professor Quirrell who was sitting on the other side of Professor Snape who kept staring straight ahead.

As the players dressed in maroon and dark green appeared on the pitch, Dawn felt a flutter in her stomach which again was ignored. She glared at Dumbledore's back, how dare he force her to come to this game and make her feel things!

Dumbledore smiled to himself and turned around to meet Dawn's stare. He grinned cheekily and gave her a little wave. Everything was working out nicely.

For the first ten minutes Dawn didn't take her eyes off Harry. She watched him fly round and round in circles looking for the snitch. She finally drew her eyes away from the Gryffindor seeker and began watching the game. She looked around the stand. About three quarters of the spectators were supporting Gryffindor, Semus and Dean even had a 'Potter for President' banner, Dawn was surprised to see such a muggle reference amongst the crowd.

Lee Jordan who was doing the commentary for the game, attracted her attention to Harry.

"Wait a moment- was that the Snitch?" His voice boomed.

An audible murmur ran through the crowds as Slytherin's seeker joined Harry who was already in a steep dive for the snitch. Dawn edged forward on her seat.

'Remain impartial, remain impartial, remain impartial.' She repeated mentally.

A cry went up in the crowds. "Foul!"

Marcus Flint had blocked Harry causing his broom to spin off course. Madam Hooch called Flint down and a penalty shot was given to Gryffindor.

"After that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-" Lee proclaimed loudly.

"_Jordan!_" McGonagall growled.

"So after that open and revolting foul-"

"Jordan, I'm warning you!"

"Alright. After the Slytherin captain nearly kills the Gryffindor seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure; a penalty shot is given."

The game resumed, but Dawn's attention was back on Harry, watching his every move. Watching his brooms every jerk…wait- was a broom supposed to be jumping about like that? Apparently not. All over the pitch, people were starting to point up at Harry's broom.

Dawn grabbed Snape's arm in panic. "What are you doing?" She asked seeing Snape staring at Harry and muttering.

Snape didn't break eye contact. "…constans servo cado." He muttered. "I believe I'm saving your son. Servo altus occumbo…"

For once Dawn didn't correct the Lily-her thing. She continued to hold onto Snape's arm as he chanted in Latin. A few moments later chaos broke loose, more so that it already had.

Professor Quirrell went headfirst into Professor McGonagall who was sitting in front of him and Snape jumped up, his robes engulfed in a blue fire. As Harry began to clamber back onto his broom, Dawn let her instincts take over. She dove for Snape, throwing them both to the floor where she then proceeded to roll him over until the flame died out.

"What in Merlin's name do you think you are doing!" Snape spluttered when she let him up.

Now Harry was safe on solid ground again, Dawn regained her composure. "Err stopping you from burning? Ever heard of stop, drop and roll?"

"No." Snape replied curtly.

"Well, maybe you should try it next time you're on fire!"

"I don't plan for there to be a next time, Miss Summers."

"Did ya plan for there to be a first time?" Dawn got up, preparing to leave. "And oh lookey, the games over. And Slytherin lost. Boo stinking hoo."

Snape spluttered a lot as the youngest staff member left the box.

McGonagall tried not to smirk while Dumbledore chuckled openly. "That's a wonderful childlike nature Miss Summers has, don't you agree Severus?"

Snape spluttered some more. He'd never met anyone quite like Dawn Summers, that was for sure…and if he met someone like her ever again it would be too soon.

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_**SUNDAY 2nd NOVEMBER-** Only 45 Shopping Days Left Until Christmas!_

"Harry!"

Harry stopped and waited for his teacher to catch him up. "Yes Professor?"

"I just wanted to check that you were okay, you know, from yesterday and what with the troll slayage the night before. Hey Ron, are you alright? Again troll slaying, very good work there." Dawn babbled.

"We're fine." Harry said cautiously.

"I guess we should just be grateful Professor Snape was there to do the protection thingy, huh. Anyway, you're both okay? Great. Well…bye then."

Dawn wandered off, leaving two very confused first years behind her.

"Protection spell?"

"Who's doing a spell?" Both boys jumped as Hermione appeared behind them. Killing the troll together had formed an instant friendship between the three, much like sharing your yellow crayon on the first day of school, only more violent.

"Professor Summers said that Snape was saving Harry."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "Do you think she's in on it?"

"She saved us from the troll, why would she then try and kill me?" Harry said reasonably.

Hermione shrugged. "To cover her tracks maybe? You have to admit, she's a bit weird."

"A bit?" Ron scoffed. "She's a bloody headcase!"

Harry clearly agreed with Ron. This teacher ran through corridor's crying, gave non-magical lessons and carried an axe about with her; those were the facts. Professor Summers was, so to speak, a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic.

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_**MONDAY 3rd NOVEMBER-** Anniversary of Voldermortist's Defeat- Hang those Horseshoes Proudly!_

A dark mark hung over a little cottage. It was the former residence of Andromeda Tonks, deserter of the noble house of Black, and her very muggle husband, Ted.

Seven hours later, thousands had seen magical pictures of the scene as it had appeared in the Daily Prophet.

In his office, Dumbledore was worried. The Tonks' had been known as possible targets ever since Andromeda had 'disgraced' her family's name by marrying a simple muggle. The only blessing was that Nyphandora and Cassiopeia were both absent at the time of the attack; Nyphandora seeing to her auror duties and her younger sister Cassie was attending a muggle university.

Even though there had been several mysterious magical deaths amongst muggle families who had some connection to the wizarding world and Dumbledore had known that they were signs of Voldemort's return, he had not expected anything quite on this scale quite so soon.

Minister Fudge had claimed that the wizarding world should not panic, that anyone could have performed the dark mark spell. But it made no difference.

All over the streets were deserted. No-one dared to step foot outside and it hadn't even been a day since the Death Eaters went public, on the very day that the dark wizard Voldemort had taken his name from had perished. There was only one explanation:

Voldemort was regaining his power.

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_**TUESDAY 4th NOVEMBER-** Only 43 Shopping Days Left Until Christmas!_

The next day's Daily Prophet brought more news of killings. It seemed in the Death Eaters warped minds, synchronised slaughter was a fun sport. At exactly midnight, thirteen muggle homes were blown up by a 'gas explosion' a.k.a. a powerful dark wizard's minions out for a fiery midnight stroll.

All ready seven students had been pulled out of Hogwarts, one Gryffindor, three Ravenclaw, three Hufflepuff and no Slytherin. What a shocker!

Dawn had telephoned Giles again on the charmed phone to update him on the situation. Their conversation had been brief and awkward; it was a business call between two acquaintances not a conversation between a scared young woman and her pseudo father. Giles hadn't even asked if she wanted to come home yet; it was clear that she was still upset about her family's betrayal, although she was definitely coping better than she had been the last time they had spoken.

The wizarding community weren't coping well with the news of Voldemort's return. As far as most of them had been concerned, he had died along with James and Lily Potter on that Halloween ten years ago. Windows and doors had been boarded up and there had been an enormous increase in mail order protection spells brought in the last two days (everyone was too scared to go out and buy them for themselves in shops). Businesses were closed and those witches and wizards with muggle relatives had tried to hide them abroad as best they could.

Once again Dumbledore was sitting in his office worrying about the situation. The wizarding world was not prepared to deal with Voldemort, using the aurors would be like sending the muggle police force out to the front lines of a war, totally useless. The only hope he had was in the prophesised Trojka, but although he knew who the prophecy referred to he didn't know how to tell them. But it looked like he would have to soon. There had been no attacks on anyone since the last one at midnight and that meant one thing; Voldemort was saving his strength.

He was planning something big and (probably) deadly.

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_31st October 1994 – 10:26 pm_

"Let me through! I have to see the Dark Lord!" A voice squeaked in front of the throne room.

"The Dark Lord does not want to be disturbed, Pettigrew." One of the death eater guards sneered. "Especially not by the likes of you."

"But I have information." One of the group's lowest ranking death eaters whined.

"Uh huh. Sure you do."

"I do! And useful information at that! I know where the Potters are!" Peter Pettigrew moaned.

"What?" The door behind the death eater guards opened to reveal a man in his mid forties with very defined features. He would have looked human if it weren't for his too-grey skin and the glowing red orbs for eyes.

"I-I- I know where the P-Potters are hiding, s-s-sir. I was m-made their s-secret k-keeper not one hour ago."

"They chose you to be their secret keeper? Why you?" Voldemort hissed.

"Please, My Lord; I was a close friend of J-James at H-Hogwarts. H-He did not believe I would be suspected." He said the last part a little bitterly. He had been the last picking as always, chosen because no-one would think of poor weak Peter. It was just like school; he had wanted to be James or Sirius, but he was only ever their tag-along puppy and then in the Order his 'friends' were given important jobs right out of school while he wasn't trusted with such responsibility. That was why he turning to the dark side; for power and appreciation. He didn't really get either, but his role as being a spy for Voldemort had been an important one and given him a smidgen of respect amongst the other lower ranking Death Eaters.

Voldemort smirked. "I see." He turned to the guards. "Malfoy, Lestrange! I want you two and four other Death Eaters ready to go by midnight. Pettigrew isn't it? You have pleased me this time; if you keep doing so then I could make life very good for you."

"Yes my Lord, thank you my Lord." Peter whimpered, the guilt over his actions beginning to arise but he squashed it down again.

"Get ready my loyal followers," Voldemort said to the guards before they left; "tonight, we kill the Potter's and their little boy too!"

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_**WEDNESDAY 5th NOVEMBER**- Guy Fawke's Night- Prepare for the Fireworks!_

Fang yelped as he bit down on the rock cake that had been suspiciously dropped by Dawn who smiled as Hagrid sheepishly; that man just couldn't cook!

"So you knew the Potters' well?"

Hagrid smiled at the young woman in front of him. Dumbledore had told him about her predicament in the hope of him being able to help her come to terms with it and to be able to tell Harry the truth soon.

"Quite well. They wen' to Hogwarts ya know. James was head boy and Lily head girl, two o' the finest people you'd ever meet."

Dawn smiled. In some ways it was weird hearing about her former self like this, but something was telling her to do whatever it takes to regain her memories. She was lucky she'd always been fairly quick at adapting to things, like when she found out she was the key; there was that one 'incident' and then close to normality.

"James were one o' the marauders, him and his friends Peter an' Remus an'" Hagrid stopped suddenly and his eyes clouded over.

"What?" Dawn pressed, but Hagrid sat there in a stony silence. Dawn felt something pressing at the edges of her conscious mind, probably another memory. She'd been remembering quite a lot recently; James sitting under a tree by the lake with his best friends- three of them. The marauders. "Hagrid, who was the fourth one?"

"What?" He asked gruffly.

"The marauders. There was James, Remus, Peter and someone else. I remember that much."

"No. He was the one who betrayed them, betrayed you. He were no friend o' James. His name is Sirius Black. He's in the Azkaban for life, do yer remember, Dawn? He was yer secret keeper an' he betrayed yer to he-who-must-not-be-named."

"But I thought that Peter was the secret keeper."

"Peter? Why did yer think that?"

Dawn frowned in agitation; where had she heard that…the dream! "I had a dream a couple of days ago, I saw, felt her last moments and thoughts. She thought that Peter had betrayed them, I'm sure of it."

Hagrid shook his head sadly. "Peter were killed by Sirius when he confronted him in a street full o' muggles, there were witnesses."

Dawn took in this information. It didn't sound right. Something in her was screaming that Sirius would never betray James or kill one of his friends with loads of muggles watching. She was snapped from her thoughts by someone knocking on the door.

Who could it be? Dumbledore had insisted that the students all be inside the castle by nightfall due to the Voldemort situation. Hagrid opened the door, expecting Dumbledore or one of the other Professors.

"Harry! Ron! What are yer doing here?"

Dawn got up and went to the door, her eyes resting on Harry briefly. "What are you doing out of the castle? It's dark out, you know what Dumbledore said!"

Harry and Ron looked confused. "We just came down to visit Hagrid, Hermione's working in the library, we didn't…" Harry trailed off and shrugged uselessly.

"When did Dumbledore say something?" Ron asked.

"After lunch, right before third period in the great hall."

"Before DADA… We were there…" Realisation dawned on Harry's eyes. "Oh Sorry Professor, Hagrid; I totally forgot!"

"Me too."

Dawn clicked her tongue in agitation. "You've got to pay more attention! These are dangerous times and you can't just be wandering about in the dark by yourself. Come on, I'll walk you back to the castle."

Harry nodded. "Sorry Professor. See ya Hagrid."

Hagrid smiled at the boys. "Visit me in daylight next time. Goodbye Dawn, be careful."

Dawn returned the smile. "See you later, and thanks."

"Anytime, best get after them. They're good boys really." Hagrid nodded to the doorway which Harry and Ron had just left.

"I know. Bye."

Dawn followed her students out the hut and Hagrid closed the door behind her so that the only light was that from the nearly full moon. She looked on ahead but saw no sign of the pupils. "Harry? Ron?"

No response. The only thing she could hear was a slight scuffle over towards the forbidden forest. Taking the dagger out of her ankle sheath, Dawn opened her senses and followed the noise soundlessly. The place reeked of dark magic; it didn't take a slayer to figure that out.

Now she had become more accustomed to the darkness, she saw five or six silhouettes no more than ten meters from her. Clutching the dagger tightly she went over to the figures. As she got closer she noticed two floating bodies, Harry and Ron, and several cloaked figures that had to be death eaters.

Harry and Ron must have been stunned or something coming out of Hagrid's hut, the death eaters had been waiting for them.

"Hurry up with that port key." Dawn heard one of the death eaters say in a low voice. They obviously hadn't heard or seen her yet.

"Activating now." Another death eater replied.

Dawn took this as her cue. With a yell and all the slayer-ness that seemed to invade her body at a moments notice when she most needed it, Dawn leapt forward hoping to knock the port key clear from the death eater. Unfortunately, Dawn was no slayer and she misjudged the jump.

Instead of gracefully saving the day, she barrelled into the death eaters and was teleported away with them.

Three seconds later they landed in a hallway in a tangle of limbs and two young boys drifting next to them. Dawn tried to get to her feet and she what mess she'd gotten into this time, but there was a heavy someone on top of her and she was still slightly stunned from diving headfirst into evil minions.

One of the masked wizards reached out for his wand. Who was this girl? Why was she here? Those questions didn't matter right now, she had to be contained.

Dawn saw the wand pointing at her and heard the word that Draco Malfoy had tried to curse her with that first day of classes. Unfortunately one hundred and twenty pounds of death eater prevented her from avoiding the spell and she lapsed into a relieved unconsciousness.

At least they hadn't killed her yet.

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_31st October 1994 – 8:12 pm_

James opened the door to Godrics Hollow. They had moved to his parents' old house as an extra safety precaution only an hour and a half ago with all the possessions they could fit into four suitcases. "Hey Peter, thanks for coming."

"Sure." Peter squeaked. "What did you want? Why aren't you at your house?"

"Dumbledore thinks Voldemort might come after us." James said seriously.

"He does?" Peter said trying to sound surprised. He'd heard about why his master was hunting down some of his oldest friends.

"He thinks we should appoint a secret keeper."

"M-me?" Pettigrew could hardly believe his luck; he could deliver the Potters to his master on a plate.

"If you're willing. Lils' upstairs putting Harry in my old crib, but we both agreed on you. Sirius is already here to perform the spell. Will you do it?"

"Of course, Prongs." The Dark Lord would be so pleased when he got the news; and Peter could finally get that power everyone had been going on about. For the first time in his life, he was going to be someone important.

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Somewhere in the middle of nowhere where they had absolutely no chance of being found, one of the kidnap victims had woken on a cold, hard floor. Dawn threw her head back in annoyance; kidnapped again! Why didn't she just tie herself up and write a big sign saying 'sister of the slayer- please attack me' but then, it probably wasn't the slayer thing this time.

Scratch that, it defiantly wasn't the slayer thing this time. It was her fault, she'd been the one who'd leapt with semi-superhuman reflexes to try and get the port key away from Harry and Ron.

"Why do I only get slayer instincts when it'll land me in trouble?" Dawn muttered, gingerly getting to her feet.

She looked around the cell (surprise, surprise; why couldn't evil overlords ever afford decent accommodation for their victims?). She felt her way over to where Harry and Ron were still unconscious; both had a strong pulse to her relief and no obvious injuries.

Already knowing it to be useless, she tested the door. Locked. Damn.

Well this was marvellous. For all they knew the Death Eaters could be killing the rest of the students right now. And two out of three of the world's strongest fighting force ever to be seen were locked in a cell.

Oh yeah, the world was defiantly doomed this time.

* * *

**A/N:** I like reviews 


	9. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**THANKS TO THE REVIEWERS:**

**Mae:** I promise to update within the week. The next chapter is written, just needs proofing!

**The Lady Morgaine: **Wow- major positive review! And once again my fave bits of the chapter were the same as my readers! I love Snape put downs:) Thanks for reviewing!

**Charmed-angel4: **It is a classic BtVS line! The next update is up within the week! Thanks for reviewing oh loyal reader!

**Damia- Queen of Gypsis: **blushes Thanks for the compliment! All I'm saying is there will be some Scooby shaped editions to the plot in chapter eleven, so not long to wait and Faith is one of my favourite characters so I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions… I want to include Dumbledore's comeuppance, but it's proving very difficult to write for the Dawn/Lily character. Maybe I'll let Buffy hit him ;) My favourite colour? I'm rather partial to lemon yellow, it's so summer-y! Thanks for reading and reviewing, hope you like this chapter as well!

**Gabrielle Dark: **I will include more. I've put in a few more and my beta has suggested where I can add some next chapter. Constructive criticism rocks, so thanks a lot for that!

**MaryAnn:** Whoa- lots of reviews! Snape and Dawn do rock! Thanks a lot and welcome to the story.

**Matt:** Heya- thanks for the review. I'm working on the scenes. I'll email you soon!

**A/N:** Sorry about the wait, but at the time of posting the next chapter is complete. It's still got to be beta-ed, but I'll have it up within the week- promise!

**Disclaimer**: 'The Evil Overlord List' belongs to Peter Anspach.

**CHAPTER NINE: SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES**

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_31st October 1994 –5:53 pm_

"So who do you think we should pick?" Lily asked her husband, bouncing her year old baby on her lap.

"One of the marauders" James immediately suggested.

"They're the best choice, it's not like we can go to my sister and she's our only family. So…Mooney?" Lily liked the quietest marauder best. "I know we haven't seen him for a while, but he's always been good to us."

James shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think that's such a good idea Lils."

"Why not?"

"Well, you know there's a spy in the order…"

"You don't think it's...? No-way! He wouldn't do that!" Lily said certainly.

"Look at the facts. You said yourself that we hadn't seen him in a while, we've barely seen him since Harry was born. Plus we know Voldemort's calling werewolves and other creatures to his side. Do you really want to take the risk?"

Lily looked down at the gurgling baby she was holding. "No."

"Me neither. What about Padfoot?"

Lily frowned. "Too obvious. They'd hunt him down within a day."

James shrugged. He couldn't argue with that. "So I guess it's Wormtail then."

"I guess." Lily agreed.

"They'd never suspect him, not in a million years and he doesn't have that much to do in the order so it shouldn't distract him." James said seriously. He had matured since his early school days, and he put most of that down to Lily's calming influence and then the responsibility of Harry later on.

"We can't tell anyone, not even Dumbledore. The more people who know means the more chance there is of people finding out."

"Agreed. I have to tell Sirius though. I told him we were getting a secret keeper and he volunteered and I kinda accepted. He won't mind it being Peter when I explain."

"Okay. Could Sirius perform the spell? You're right about him having to know; the entire order will think that he's going to be our secret keeper so we'll have to tell him otherwise. When should we do the spell?" Lily asked nervously. The moment Dumbledore had told them about the prophecy at the Order headquarters, they had gone to 'Godric's Hollow' in hiding. But they knew it was only a matter of time before they were discovered so they were to activate the Fidelius Charm immediately.

"I'll ask Padfoot and Wormtail to come over this afternoon. Dumbledore heard the prophecy this morning, as did one of the death eaters so I want Harry safe for tonight and I don't think we should go to Eddie's Halloween party."

"Somehow I'm not in the mood for partying." Lily said dryly, looking down at her son.

James got up from his seat and went over to his wife and son. Harry hadn't been planned, but now he was here James wouldn't change him for the world. He squatted down and tilted Lily's head up so he was looking into her big eyes. "It'll be okay Lil; we just have to keep Harry safe. Everything will work out just fine, you'll see."

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Hagrid strode up towards the castle. He had to get to Dumbledore's office! He'd heard Dawn shout and looked out of his window just in time to see her dive into a group of death eaters and for all of them to disappear.

He reached Dumbledore's office quickly, his long legs covering the ground quickly. The gargoyle moved and he ran up the stairs.

Dumbledore stood to greet one of only three members of the order of the phoenix as he burst into the office. The aged headmaster took one look at Hagrid's face and knew what the problem was. "Come on, we have to hurry if we want to trace that port key."

Hagrid didn't argue, he wasn't even surprised; Dumbledore always knew what was happening in his castle. He was just surprised that Dumbledore hadn't found a way to stop it before it had happened.

They went out to the edge of the dark forest where Hagrid had seen the incident take place. Dumbledore pulled some kind of contraption out of his robes and set it on the floor.

A moment later the devise started glowing golden orange and rose into the night air. As it reached about waist height it flashed brightly once and then fell into Dumbledore's outstretched hand. The headmaster looked at a small screen and took in all the information there.

It showed the port key had been spelled to teleport the group inside a magical ward, but that would take days for Dumbledore to re-create, so they would have to go to the edge of the wards and then go the rest on foot.

Dumbledore hurried back inside, Hagrid not far behind him. They would need help for this, and not from those idiots at the ministry. They had no idea how to handle something like this; subtlety wasn't exactly their strong point and anything but that would get the missing trio killed. No; they were going to have to call in the experts.

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"Come on Harry, time to wake up now." Dawn shook the young wizard gently and he started to rouse.

Dawn herself had woken from the effects of the stunning spell a couple of minutes ago. As far as she could see in the little light that emitted from a flaming torch right at the other end of the hall, neither Harry nor Ron had any injuries and there was no chance of escape.

Harry grunted and woke up. "What happened?"

"You and Ron were kidnapped by Death Eaters; I just came along for the ride. "

Harry seemed to be adjusting to his surroundings quite quickly. "Where are we? What's the matter with Ron?"

"He's just knocked out; I guess I woke up first 'cause I have a lot more experience being knocked out than you guys." Dawn went over to try and wake Ron. "I have no idea where we are, I don't suppose you do, do you?"

Harry shrugged uselessly.

"Right, thought not." Dawn sighed in agitation as Ron began to stir. "Time to get up, sleeping beauty."

"Five more minutes, mum." Ron mumbled.

Harry laughed waking Ron so that he was almost fully awake. "Harry? Professor Summers? What are you doing here?"

"Being kidnapped, same as you."

Ron rubbed his eyes sleepily. "What? Why? Where? Who?"

"Kidnapped, dunno, dunno, Death Eaters." Dawn summed up. "I'm guessing they're after Harry, some kind of revenge for nearly killing their master or something."

"Oh great. Bloody marvellous! What now?"

"I don't- wait!" Dawn's eyes lit up as she reached to her left ankle. She'd dropped her first dagger when she dove into the Death Eaters, but its mate was still securely strapped around her ankle.

"I've still not one of my daggers." She told the boys relieved and feeling more confident now she had a weapon. "I can't believe they didn't search me! Honestly, if brains were dynamite then they wouldn't have enough to blow off a hat!"

Harry sniggered at that, but Ron looked confused; what the heck was dynamite? And why was their professor carrying muggle weaponry?

The big door at the end of the hall opened and two Death Eaters entered and made their way to Harry, Ron and Dawn's cell. Dawn quickly stuffed the dagger down the back of her trousers and pulled her top over it.

"Well, well, well; what do we have here?" One of them sneered from under his mask.

Dawn stepped forward in the hope of protecting the boys to some extent, trying to stop the voice, Lily's voice, inside her head that was telling her: 'that didn't work last time'.

The Death Eaters seemed to notice her. "Who are you?"

They didn't know about her; she still had the upper hand here. "Dawn Summers, professional kidnappee. And you are…?"

If the mask weren't in the way, Dawn would see that he was glaring at her. "We are followers of the Dark Lord."

"Right. Okay. So do we get to meet your 'Lord'?" Dawn said, putting air quotes around the Lord.

The second Death Eater gripped his wand. "He will arrive tonight, and then you will see him."

"Looking forward to it." Dawn said sarcastically, but she'd pushed them too far.

"You will speak of the Dark Lord with respect! Cruico!"

Dawn doubled over, biting her tongue to stop from shouting out. Harry and Ron watched the scene anxiously.

"And you…" The taller Death Eater turned to Harry laughing cruelly; "our Lord is looking forward to seeing _you_."

The other Death Eater chuckled evilly and the duo left the room.

"Professor Summers? Are you okay?" Harry asked anxiously. He felt his heart beating wildly in his chest. Why was he so concerned for his professor's safety?

"Just dandy." Dawn said through gritted teeth. She winced as she managed to straighten up. "Well that hurt. Remind me not to be on the receiving end of one of those puppies again."

Ron smiled weakly as did Harry. Seeing the Death Eaters had made everything seem more real… and deadly.

"At least _he's_ not actually here." Ron said relieved.

"Who, Voldemort?" Dawn asked forgetting the wizarding world's name phobia. "Yeah, that's one thing in our favour."

"What's going to happen to us?" Harry asked and Dawn could hear a note of fear in his voice although he was mastering it well.

Things didn't look that good, Dawn had to admit. No-one knew they were missing and probably wouldn't until morning, they could be anywhere not just in some close by warehouse like in Sunnydale and they had no weapons against evil wizards. Still she summoned a smile for her students.

"Don't worry; we'll be rescued. I've been kidnapped loads and it always goes the same way; captured, locked up in the dark for hours, taken to the leader, they blurt out their big plan and then some hero saves you at the very last minute. You could set your watch by it." Dawn said reassuringly.

"You've been in this position before?" He looked at her somewhat accusingly.

"Yes."

It was a simple answer, Harry thought, but it didn't give anything away. It was much like her whole personality, or what he had seen of it while she had been at Hogwarts- nothing was given away. But that didn't explain why he felt he knew her better than any other teachers, even better than the Dursley's who he'd lived with for ten years. Well, perhaps to say he knew her would be a bit strong. He understood her- the way her mind worked…it was like a strange, completely unfounded connection, and he felt she understood him. It was totally discomforting to find you understand one person more than people you'd known your entire life.

"What if we don't get rescued. No-one knows where we are."

Dawn pushed the worries of that very fact to the back of her mind. "I won't let them hurt you."

Harry was surprised at the amount of comfort her whispered words brought him. He knew deep down that he could trust her. He just knew it, but he didn't know why.

"Besides, they'll be here."

Ron twisted his neck round to look at her. "You really think they'll come for us?"

"Is the pope Catholic?" She said confidently.

"The what?" Apparently the Weasley's weren't very up on muggle religion.

"Never mind- they'll be here." Dawn said firmly.

She wondered if Harry believed her story any more than she did right now.

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Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid had now been joined by Snape, Nyphandora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt, that latter two being aurors and members of the order. The reason the rescue party had been kept so small was a) to stop the ministry getting wind of it and b) so that the group could go in and get out as quickly as possible.

Professor Dumbledore had taken mere minutes to trace the energy that the port key had left behind and had narrowed down the search to the closest muggle settlement to Hogwarts. It was about eight miles away from the edges of the forbidden forest and fairly small, all there was in the village was a small high street, a couple of farms and a cluster of houses.

Dumbledore had been surprised to find the Death Eaters setting up camp in a muggle village, but they seemed to want to keep their whereabouts secret at the moment; and a large group of influential wizards coming in and out of a wizarding mansion would no doubt raise suspicion.

The five wizards each took hold of the old shoe presented to them and were transported to the other side of the forbidden forest; magical wards prevented them from going any further.

The group set off towards the village, keeping an eye open for any suspicious activity. They estimated that it would take three to four hours for them to get to the village and when you added on the hour that the preparations had taken, it would be five hours later and past sunrise before they would find the village.

"Do yer think we'll find 'em alive?" Hagrid asked gruffly.

Dumbledore's silence had given him his answer. The headmaster had always been a firm believer in the truth and wanted to be honest with his staff; but right now he'd have traded his soul for a convincing lie.

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_31st October 1994 –2:17 pm_

"Professor Dumbledore!" Lily shifted Harry on her hip and beamed upon opening the door of her and James' little cottage just outside Hogsmede. "Are you here for the order meeting?"

"I'm afraid not, my dear. May I talk to you and James in private?"

Lily immediately guessed the seriousness of the situation. "We can go upstairs. The meeting's taking place in the kitchen so no-one should overhear us. I'll get James."

Dumbledore nodded and waited at the foot of the stairs for the young couple to return. He didn't want to do this, Lily and James were only nineteen and twenty, but they were still parents and had a right to know.

Lily soon returned. Behind her was James who was now holding his son, and then bringing up the rear was Sirius.

"Perhaps it should just be Lily and James, to start with?" He suggested.

James opened his mouth to protest, but Lily beat him to it. "No, he's family. Besides James will tell him anyway."

Sirius looked a bit surprised at Lily sticking up for him, but they had got a lot closer since he was made Harry's godfather. Dumbledore nodded his consent and they went upstairs into a drawing room.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked fearfully.

"It may be nothing. But as I was in the Hog's Head today interviewing a prospective member of staff, she had a premonition…" Dumbledore told them about the prophecy. He noticed James unconsciously tightening his hold on Harry and Sirius put a hand of comfort on Lily's shoulder. They truly were a family.

"So what does it mean for us?" James asked strongly.

Dumbledore sighed. "There was somebody listening to our conversation, they did not hear all of the prophecy, but they heard enough for us to worry about. I have reason to believe that it was a death eater; the Hogs Head's reputation speaks for itself and the person wore a robe which covered their face."

"We have to keep Harry safe." Lily said with a slight tremor in her voice.

"I suggest you choose a secret keeper, immediately. There are only two families that the circumstances mentioned apply too, and I have advised the Longbottom's to do the same, that is why they did not attend the meeting this afternoon. I am sorry, but I have to leave now. These are hard times for all of us and I have to break some rather devastating news to some friends." Dumbledore said regrettably.

As Dumbledore got up, James shifted so that he could give his wife a reassuring hug without letting go of Harry. Before leaving, Dumbledore turned once more to the three friends and Harry who were silently comforting each other in the room.

"Our greatest strength is love, and there is no small amount of that present in this room right now. It is that love that will save your son."

He just didn't know how right he was.

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Harry walked up and down like a caged tiger. It worried him that he wasn't worried. Why? Because of the reason he wasn't worried; because his professor was there. Some irrational, or so he thought, part of his mind was telling him that she'd already protected him once- and she would do it again. Another part was saying that Dumbledore would rescue them...after Professor Summers had risked everything to save them. It was very confusing.

Dawn sat on the hard floor, her back leaning against the wall. Ever since their first visit, the captives had remained undisturbed and Harry and Ron were getting restless.

Ron sat in one of the cells corners, leaning against one side and kicking the other wall with his foot. He'd been kicking it steadily for the last thirty minutes and it was starting to drive Dawn insane. She stared at the foot thudding away for another minute before turning to the other occupant of the room.

Harry was pacing; up and down and back again. Dawn studied him for a moment. She'd been told he looked like James with Lily's eyes. From the memory snatches she remembered that defiantly seemed so. Lily's big, green eyes with James' lithe figure and that mop of dark hair.

She was distracted from Harry's messy hair by something metallic glinting in the wavering fire light. It was about three inches above her head and probably a two foot square wide but the lack of light and dark walls that almost camouflaged it made it difficult to see. Feeling the need to do something, anything; she got up and investigated.

It was some sort of ventilation cover and, much to Dawn's surprise, it came off easily. Ron and Harry walked over to see what she was doing.

"What's that?"

"Looks like an air vent…" Dawn replied. She grabbed for a hand hold and lifted herself up to take a look…and almost laughed at what she saw. Directly in front of the hole was a space that was big enough to hold all three of them and then a couple of tunnels led off, each wide enough for them to crawl though. How cliché!

"Looks like this is our ticket out of here, boys!" Dawn said as she jumped back down. "There're ventilation tunnels up there that we could easily fit through."

"What's a ventilation tunnel?" Ron asked.

"You don't know?" Ron shook his head. "Then this must be a muggle building." Dawn reasoned. "They're basically to help air circulate."

Ron nodded. "So we can follow them and they'll lead us out?"

"Yup, trust me."

Ron looked up doubtfully, but Harry spoke without even realising. "I do."

Dawn stopped in her tracks, noticeably rocked by the quiet admission. But the flickering light and ripening smell soon brought her attention back to the present. "Harry you get up there first and wait for Ron and me."

Harry, with a boost from Ron and Dawn, made it into the space behind the wall and then helped pull Ron up. Just as Dawn was about to climb up, the door creaked open once more and one Death Eater stood framed by the light.

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Although Professors Dumbledore and Snape, aurors Tonks and Shacklebolt and Hagrid had finally entered the little village a while ago, they still had not found anywhere they believed a Death Eater would hide.

The evil wizards would certainly not 'lower themselves' to staying in one of the petite cottage type buildings, yet that seemed to be all that was about.

The group walked up the silent streets, trying to prevent themselves from being seen as much as possible. They peered into windows at first to try and determine if the Death Eaters could be hiding in that building, but seeing all the bodies of men, women and children who had been shot down as they tried to flee their homes became too much.

As dawn began to peek over the horizon, the wizards put out the light that emitted from their wands. They had not started out jumping for joy, but as the time went on they all became noticeably disheartened; they were losing hope.

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The Death Eater made its way towards the cell in which the three prisoners should be held, not knowing anything to be wrong.

Dawn soundlessly slid over to the entrance, getting out her dagger that was still down her waistband. She'd have to be fast or he'd be able to curse her again and Harry and Ron would be discovered.

The Death Eater was obviously a bit dim. He didn't look into the cell before opening it and didn't think it odd that it were totally silent in there. He slid the door back quite slowly and stepped inside; what damage could two wandless children and a muggle do?

He was about to find out.

As soon as the moment arose, Dawn grabbed the Death Eater and slid her blade across his throat fatally. He didn't even have a chance to scream and she was across the cell before his body touched the ground.

Harry and Ron pulled Dawn into the vent and stared at her in surprise. She'd killed someone without a second thought and, Ron thought, in a very messy way compared to the wizards' simple curse.

Dawn hurriedly put the cover back over the hole. The cell door was still open so when their escape was discovered, the Death Eaters would assume that they had gone that way. They probably didn't even know these vents existed. She turned round so that if it weren't too dark to see she'd be looking at Harry and Ron. "Let's go."

"You killed him!" Ron blurted out.

"Shhh! It was him or us and I'm not going to let that happen again! Get going, Now!"

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"Look!" Tonks pointed ahead.

There was a large mansion on the outskirts of the village. Some of the windows were lit up and there was smoke coming from one of the chimneys.

"That must be it." Shacklebolt reasoned.

Dumbledore nodded in agreement and the group sped up having their goal in sight. But they still had to get in undiscovered, find Harry, Ron and Dawn and then get them out and to safety. Would they be in time?

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"I can't believe that we're actually escaping through an air vent. Guys, promise me if you ever become an evil overlord your vents will be too small to crawl through?"

"Err… okay." Harry said casting Ron a confused look. This professor was weird.

"Oh and never put any two captives in the same room, and if you employ advisers then could you at least _occasionally_ listen to their advice?"

Ron decided to humour her. "Sure."

"And never make a sentient computer that's smarter than you are, and never turn into a snake. It doesn't help. Or if you capture someone, make sure you take their key-stealing, rope-untying monkey and put it a long way away from them…like in another country. Or if you try to poison your arch nemesis at dinner and then leave the table, for the love of God, just order new drinks instead of trying to decide whether or not to swap with him. And if you're involved in a fight to the death, make sure you go to the toilet before you start…"

Harry looked back at Ron wearily. This was going to be a long crawl.

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Dawn, Harry and Ron listened to a conversation through one of the vent openings that opened into a sitting room. From what they heard, it seemed that the Death Eaters had realised that the trio had escaped from their cell. It seemed the Death Eaters were confident that the prisoners were still in the building somewhere as the exits were all being guarded, even more heavily now the captives had escaped.

Dawn motioned the boys forward, they had to try and get out of this quickly before the vent was discovered.

They may have escaped their cell, but it wasn't over yet.

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Please Review!


	10. One Down

**Thanks to the Reviewers:**

**Mae: **More? Well if you insist…

**W1ckedAngel: **Glad you like! Thanks for reading and reviewing.

**MaryAnn: ** Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**BuffyFan:** Was this quick enough?

**Jemz:** Final climax isn't for a few chapters yet! That was more of a mid-fic-shake-up! Thanks for R&R, no-one's ever called my grammar good before!

**Jules (Lady Morgaine): **I'd buy it :) Dawn wouldn't have killed him if there wasn't a good reason and he probably deserved it. Thanks for R&R!

**Gabriel Dark: **Scoobs were bound to rub off on her sooner or later! Thanks for R&R!

**AllenPitt:** Yup, major angst coming up al round! I bet that not even in the wizarding world, no-one one's been freed from a resurrected witness!

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**Damia: **Thanks for reading and reviewing- a nice quick update.

**AN:** You are looking at the first chapter posted from my brand new laptop, an eighteenth birthday pressi from my lovely parents! Be warned, this chap hasn't been betaed so it may have some mistakes.

**CHAPTER TEN: ONE DOWN…**

The rescue group hurried towards the mansion keeping to the shadows the still rising sun hadn't yet reached. They were all looking out for any Death Eaters that could be about but there were none.

As they reached the mansion having not been seen, they stood close to the walls.

"It'll be heavily guarded, Albus." Snape said.

Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "We should lap around the house, see in there are any ways in."

"Shall we spilt up?" Tonks asked.

"No; I think it best if we stay together." Dumbledore answered, setting off around the building.

No-one noticed the air vent above their heads.

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Harry was thankful for the darkness in the tunnels. People seemed to want to talk less when it was pitch black and he wasn't in the mood for talking. He was also grateful as it blocked the view of Ron's arse bobbing along in front of him.

Before they'd gone up into the tunnels, she'd smiled at him; Professor Summers had smiled at him. When he'd seen that happy smile, he'd felt something stirring inside of him. Something made him think that they'd met long before she'd come to Hogwarts, somewhere in the depths of his memory he knew that smile.

He remembered fixing his eyes on it as a woman smiled down at him… and the singing, he remembered her singing, but not in an American accent. The only other part of the face he could remember was the eyes. Swirling orbs that could convey any amount of love in just one look, but in the memory they were as green as his own, not blue. Although his teacher's eyes did have the same warmth and emotion.

He'd presumed that the face that haunted his dreams was his mother's, singing him to sleep with a gentle lullaby as he gazed up and made his memory. But could it be someone else? A nanny or friend who regularly lulled him into a peaceful slumber with love filling her eyes?

His logical brain told him that that was impossible- for the person in his dreams to be his professor then she'd have to be older that he was sure she was and she would've told him. It was impossible… but still he wondered… could she have known him as an infant? Could she have been the one who made him feel safe with her smile, just like she had done today? Could she prove to be another friend of his parents, a link to the one thing he wanted more than anything else?

As much as he told himself that it wasn't possible, he still hoped that it could be true.

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The trio crawling through the tunnels had no idea of the time. They knew that they had been discovered missing by listening to conversations through the walls, they also knew that the Death Eaters had performed a spell that showed that they were still somewhere in the building. Fortunately the spell wasn't that precise so they didn't think to look in the ceilings or walls for the escaped prisoners.

However Ron, Harry and Dawn knew that it wouldn't be long before the entrance to the vents that opened up in their cell was discovered so they kept moving.

Dawn who was leading crawled as softly as she could through the metallic tunnels. She heard the Death Eaters that were talking below, although not well enough to make out what they were saying.

As she put her right knee forward, the vent creaked nosily; there was no way the Death Eaters didn't hear it.

"What was that?" The first Death Eater asked looking up to the ceiling. "It came from up there."

The other Death Eater sighed in agitation. They'd just searched the room above them and sealed the door after they had finished, the prisoners defiantly weren't there. "This is an old house, Freed; old houses creak, especially _muggle_ ones." He sneered nastily.

There was another creak from above them as Dawn went further on.

"They shouldn't creak that much!"

"_Freed_! Leave it! It's just the floorboards or something!"

Up in the tunnel, the trio breathed a sigh of relief.

"We have to go back the way we came." Dawn told the boys following her.

Harry nodded in agreement and they turned so that Harry was now leading them back down the vent. When they got back to the fork they had most recently crossed, they went in the opposite direction.

Little did they know that when the vent had begun to creak they had been only meters away from where their intended rescue group had stood moments before.

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Meanwhile, in the now empty cell, a Death Eater stood. He had been standing outside the door which led from the cells to the main hall at the time when the group had escaped. He knew they hadn't come past him; that wasn't even a possibility, but they had got out somehow.

He paced up and down the small room but stopped when he saw the same metallic glint that Dawn had seen a few hours ago. He dutifully went to investigate and found the air vent just like Dawn had.

"Crabbe! Janas! Look at this!"

"What is it?" 'Crabbe' grunted.

"It looks like a tunnel. This must be how they got out. It's big enough and I would have seen them if they'd have walked right past me."

The three Death Eaters looked up at the hole and then back at each other. Things were starting to make a lot more sense.

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_31st October 1994 –7:24 am_

Lily awoke that morning contented and peaceful. It was rare that she awoke before her one-year-old 'alarm clock', but today she did. She gently got out of bed, careful not to disturb her slumbering husband and gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. James rolled over, taking advantage of the extra space in the bed, with a small smile of his face.

Lily grabbed her dressing gown, enjoying the feel of the silk on her bare skin. She went into her son's bedroom and picked up the smiling baby, taking him downstairs into the kitchen for his breakfast.

As she fed little Harry, Lily watched a finch fly out of the birdhouse James had put in their garden. They were happy here. They were a family. They were well off money wise (James' parents had died about a year ago and left their son and daughter-in-law everything), but chose to save it for when it was needed, whether it be for Harry's Hogwarts tuition or for her and James' pension; it was nice to have a safety net. Besides, the little cottage they lived in was what she had always dreamed of as a child. It was just outside Hogsmede so she didn't have to go far for groceries or company and there was plenty of room for the three of them.

After she had fed Harry, Lily set him in his play pen and tidied up the kitchen. There was going to be an Order meeting later on and she was always careful that her and James' friends could see that they were coping fine with being young parents. A few minutes later, James came downstairs to get his morning coffee. They had only been married for a year and a half, but she couldn't imagine her life without him.

"'Morning Lils." James gave her a kiss as he passed.

"'Morning. Have you remembered the meeting today?"

"Of course." He grinned cheekily.

As James went into the kitchen to get Harry, Lily looked him over appreciatively. He had yet to put a top on so the finely honed muscles from years of quiditch practice were fully on display, not that she was complaining.

James turned, Harry now sitting in his arms and tugging at his dad's hair playfully. He gave her that smile that always managed to make her heart skip a beat. "You're up early."

Lily smiled as he used the arm that wasn't holding Harry to pull her closer to him. "So are you." She commented before he captured her lips in a deep kiss.

"Ah-hum." Someone coughed behind the couple and they sprung apart quickly.

James smirked as his wife tightened her robes around her and blushed crimson upon seeing who had just come through their fireplace. "Professor Dumbledore, what brings you here?"

"Ah yes, sorry to err, interrupt, so early in the morning, but I have a series of interviews with prospective divination teachers."

"Load of crap." James mumbled, but Dumbledore appeared not to hear him.

"So, I was just here to inform you both that I will be late to this afternoon's meeting; I hope this does not ruin your plans."

"No, of course not."

"Good." Dumbledore paused. "Well I'll leave you to it. Good morning."

As he disappeared back through the fireplace, Lily groaned. "Well that was embarrassing!"

"Could've been worse." James smirked as he put Harry back down in his playpen where he immediately began to play with one of his numerous toys.

"Oh really, how?"

James approached his wife and started fiddling with the knot that held her gown in place. "If he was ten minutes later."

Lily tried to stop herself smiling. "But Harry-"

"Will occupy himself for hours." He picked Lily up and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Hours, eh?"

"Uh huh; I think that it's time for mummy and daddy to have some fun."

They were a very happy family at that moment, they thought they always would be; but a lot could happen in twenty four hours.

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The rescue party had managed to get about three quarters of the way around the big house without being seen. Unfortunately they had had absolutely no luck in finding a safe entrance into the mansion. Dumbledore looked up at the early morning sun anxiously.

"If we don't find them soon, I fear we will have to involve the Ministry."

No-one was too happy about that, including Tonks and Shacklebolt who worked there. They had to get this over with soon. Once again they spotted an open window, but once again there was a Death Eater standing by it. Feeling very undignified, the group crawled under the ledge, but stopped when they heard another Death Eater calling to the one guarding the window.

"Hey, you! Any sign of the prisoners?"

"Nothing." The guard looked curiously at his fellow Death Eater who was staring sharply at a grill in the ceiling.

"Seal the window. We may have a lead." The Death Eater ordered.

That was all the group outside heard as the window sealed shut with a squelch.

"Well, well, well. I believe we may have underestimated Miss Summers. She did tell me her vast experience would being captured would come in useful, but I must admit I didn't believe her." Dumbledore chuckled, happier now he knew the trio weren't dead.

"How do you know it had anything to do with her?" Snape said sulkily.

"Ah yes Severus, don't worry, I plan to give Mr Weasly and Mr Potter full credit when they are recovered as well. Now shall we get on?"

Snape only scowled harder. Damn Potter.

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"What shall we do?" One Death Eater asked.

Nearly all the Death Eaters currently in the mansion were gathered in that tiny cell all gazing up at a little hole in the wall.

"Why don't we shove you up there after them!" Another said maliciously.

"Ah, shuddup." The first replied.

"Make me, muggle!"

"Alright, now you've pushed me too far!" The 'muggle' whipped out his wand and prepared to curse the other.

"Stop this right now! Our Lord is on his way here and if the prisoners aren't ready then we'll be cruicoed so hard we won't be able to curse for a month of Sundays!" The group's leader commanded.

There were a few mumbles, presumably of apology, and silence reigned.

"That's better. I've got an idea, we'll force them out!"

Goyle scratched his head confused. "But how? Only one of us will fit up there."

"Like this;" he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the entrance to the vents, "serpantosa!"

A black snake flew out the end of the wand. When it regained its balance, it headed off down the vent certainly.

"It'll hunt them down." The Death Eater smirked. "I can't wait to see them try and _slither_ out of this one!"

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_30th October 1994 –10:33 pm_

Lily woke up with a start, breathing heavily she looked around the small, cosy sitting room of her and James' cottage. It was just a nightmare.

She looked at the empty seat next to her puzzled. She called out softly for her husband.

"James?"

No answer. A frown creased her lips as she got up off the comfortable sofa and headed up the wooden stairs. When she got to the top, she peered into her son's room.

James was in their, not doing anything in particular, just looking down at the one-year-old child in the crib. Lily smiled, not moving from the doorway. She'd caught him like this before, many a time in fact. No one could wish for a more loving father.

Although she hadn't made a sound, James turned. "He woke up."

"You could have woken me." Lily whispered.

"I know, but I never could bear to wake so when you're sleeping." James said quietly as he left little Harry's room.

Her knees turned to jelly. "I love you, James."

He smiled, pleasant surprise evident in his face. "I love you too. What's all this in aid of?"

Lily shrugged. "I just want you to know. In case-"

He cut her off with a kiss. "I thought we decided there'd be none of that?"

"I know, but James, we've escaped from him three times already. Sooner or later-"

He cut her off. "Sooner or later what? He hasn't tried anything in over six months. I'm pureblood Lils, that means were safe, for now at least. Besides, Voldemort's probably realised that we're no real threat to him. Let's go to bed, ay?"

Her eyes met his chocolate ones and she saw the sincerity and love shining within them. She nodded and allowed herself to be led into their bedroom as Harry slept on in a peaceful slumber.

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Five minutes after the snake had been set after them, Ron, Harry and Dawn had finished the total circle that they had just crawled in, giving the snake plenty of time to catch up with them. They crouched at the three-way-fork they had just come to, Dawn in front of the boys locking eyes with the snake.

"Ron," Dawn said softly; "try and crawl down that tunnel there."

Ron did as he were told and started to crawl slowly down the tunnel. He moved about three meters when the vent began to creak. The snake lunged for Ron;

"NO!" Dawn shouted.

The snake stopped and turned to face her.

"Good snakey, there's a good snake. Go away…please?"

Miraculously the snake did as it were told and headed off down another tunnel.

"Right, let's get out of here- what?"

Ron was still looking at her wide eyed. "You're a parselmouth!"

"Watch your language! I am your professor and I demand to be treated with respect… a what now?"

"You spoke to the snake." Ron clarified awed.

Dawn was confused. "I did?"

"Yea; it was bloody brilliant!"

"It was?"

"You didn't realise you could do it?"

"No; but then the only other time I met a snake I just screamed and then Buffy killed it for me." Harry and Ron looked at her strangely. "It was a demon snake. Hey, I wonder if I can talk to dogs too…"

Ron turned back and started down the creaky tunnel again. "Hey! What's that?"

Harry who was behind him answered. "It looks like daylight!"

"Let's go!" Dawn began to creak down the tunnel.

"Up there!" A muffled voice came through the ceiling.

"Uh oh. Hurry guys." Dawn said urgently. A beam shot through the vent behind them; they were being shot at. "We need to get out of here now!"

The trio crawled as fast as they could towards the daylight. Ron slammed into the grate as soon as he reached it, the others not far behind him. The second time he rammed it, the grate fell off and the escapees all fell to the ground in a tangled heap.

The rescue group heard the commotion and hurried over to find the trio still on the group. Snape smirked as the Headmaster tended to the group.

"Are you all alright?"

"Fine." Came the three responses.

"Capital!"

The two Death Eaters who had been firing the curses came to the window, but when they saw Dumbledore they had disappeared, thankfully not seeing Snape who was still a spy for the Order.

"Well I suggest we get back to Hogwarts." Professor Dumbledore pulled a gold chain from around his neck. On the chain, there was a medium sized 'HH' in the same gold. "Everyone take hold of this; it can transport us from anywhere in this dimension back to Hogwarts."

"Cool!" But Dawn's words were lost as she felt a pull around her navel and landed two seconds later in the Hogwarts entrance hall…right on her back.

Harry and Ron had also fallen when they had landed and got to their feet embarrassed.

Snape smirked down at Dawn. "Need a hand, Miss Summers?"

"Nah, I'm good." Dawn put her hands behind her head and pushed off, flipping to land on her feet. She'd never been more thankful for the two days of lessons Buffy had spent with her teaching her to 'get back up in style'. Giles hadn't been so impressed though when he realised that they had 'wasted' Dawn's sparring session teaching her to get up…Oh well, it came in useful.

Snape's smirk turned into a glare and his paler-than-pale complexion started to colour with anger. "You two," he turned his anger on Harry and Ron; "what were you doing outside after hours?"

Harry shuffled his feet; their defence was shaky at best. "We, err, forgot."

"You forgot!" Snape spluttered. "Well-"

"Leave them, Sevie; haven't they been through enough for one night?"

"Quite Right." Dumbledore agreed. "Harry, Ron; breakfast is being served in the Great Hall."

"Only breakfast? But it feels so much later!" Ron groaned.

Dumbledore smiled as the two boys headed to the great hall. "And I will be seeing you directly after breakfast in my office, correct?"

"Yes sir." Harry sighed.

"Miss Summers, would you care to dine in my office with me this morning? There is a matter I feel we should discuss."

'Damn straight.' Dawn thought as she nodded and followed Dumbledore to his office where they both sat down.

Before Dumbledore could say anything, Dawn's emotional dam burst spilling out a swirling rage of emotions. "How could you let this happen? You said it was safe here!"

"It is." Dumbledore injected.

"So safe that two of your students got kidnapped from under your bloody nose by an evil wizard?" She yelled.

Dumbledore hung his head in regret. "I am sorry that had to happen, but if Voldemort had wanted Harry then he would have found a way to get to him, Hogwarts or no Hogwarts."

"That's crap and you know it!" Dawn's face began to turn pink with anger. "I could have taken him to America. He could have anonymous there."

"And been safe for perhaps one or two more years."

"That I could use to train him."

"He doesn't know who you are." Dumbledore said pointedly.

Dawn's mouth snapped shut. Her son didn't know who she was.

"Miss Summers; I'm not going to beat around the bush with this. You remember the prophesy that referred to Harry, your sister and yourself? Well I feel that it is necessary to start putting it into action. Voldemort has clearly returned and I believe we need all the help we can get."

Dawn nodded slowly, all her anger disappearing. "Does that mean I have to tell him?" She whispered.

"I'm afraid so. But may I suggest you start with your sister? She will no doubt know at least part of what is going on and it may be easier to tell her."

Dawn nodded. "I'll do it now; otherwise I'll just be putting it off forever."

Dumbledore smiled kindly. He got out a phone identical to the one Dawn still had in her room and passed it to her. "You can use my office; I need to speak with Minerva anyway. I'll return shortly."

Dawn thought for a moment before phoning Buffy. She hadn't told anyone, but she had had many more memories return to her. It felt so strange. She knew that she was Dawn Summers, the slayers sister, yet when she had these memories return she wasn't Dawn anymore, she was Lily.

She, as Lily, remembered her sister isolating her when she discovered that she was a witch and then going to Hogwarts for the first time. She remembered studying so hard to make her family proud and becoming a prefect for Gryffindor. She remembered chatting with friends and being chased by the arrogant James Potter for years. She remembered finally giving into James for one date providing he kept his hands too himself and never asked her again.

She remembered having a really good time that night and going out with him again…several times and making good use of the private room's the prefects had. She remembered finding out she was pregnant with Harry whilst they were still in school and dreading telling James but she needn't have worried as he promised to support her no matter what. She remembered performing the spell to hide her pregnancy from everyone and then her baby's birth. She remembered Sirius as a proud godfather and that first year of Harry's life until they were betrayed and James died to try and save them both.

But there was a discrepancy. The way she remembered it; Sirius wasn't the secret keeper as James was worried he would be suspected. The way she remembered it, Peter was their secret keeper, changed at the last minute in total secrecy. But everyone said it was Sirius who betrayed them and then went on to kill Peter. That didn't sound like the Sirius she knew, but how much could these 'memories' be trusted?

Dawn shook herself out of her daydreaming and dialled the number for Buffy and Willow's house nervously. No answer. She tried Xander's next, then Faith's and, as a last resort, Andrew. They were all out. She checked her watch and did the familiar calculation in her head- it was still to early for slaying. Dawn tried Giles; he'd know if there was anything serious going on that needed twenty-four-seven patrolling.

"Hello?" His voice crackled.

"Giles? It's Dawn."

"Dawn? Oh thank God! We've been so worried about you!" Giles said relieved.

"We?" Dawn questioned, hoping and praying that it was who she thought it was.

"Me, the slayers, Buffy, Willow, Xander, Faith, even Andrew! Everyone's staying here. We wanted to come to Hogwarts, but it's not on any maps so we couldn't find it."

"I know, it's unplottable. Why is everyone in England?"

"We heard about the attacks. Willow's still in contact with the coven and they told her Voldemort was gaining power."

"She's right, he is; much faster than we thought he would. Can I speak to Buffy?"

"Of course." There was the rustling of the phone being put down and Dawn could faintly hear Giles in the background: "It's Dawn. She's alright. Buffy, she wants to talk to you."

More rustling and then: "Heya Dawnie."

At the sound of her sister's voice, Dawn felt the tears well up. "Buffy?"

"It's okay, I promise." Buffy said reassuringly.

"No it's not…did Giles tell you?"

"Yeah, he did. Dawnie, I'm so sorry he didn't tell you sooner, if I'd had known…" Buffy's voice broke slightly signalling that she too was holding back the tears.

"It's okay. I get it, really. Can you believe I have a son?"

"I don't think 'no' is a strong enough word." Buffy muttered.

"I know, it's so weird. But that's not what I called about."

"It's not?"

"No, there's this prophesy-"

"It's not about my death is it?" Buffy said light-heartedly.

"Not this time, but you are in it. There's supposed to be this uber-fighting force that saves the wizarding world. It's you, me and…" Dawn trailed off.

"And..?"

"Harry. Oh God Buffy, it's so hard. He doesn't know anything about me, but I've practically remembered all of Lily's life and he _feels_ like he's mine, you know?"

"I know. Listen, Dawnie, it's going to be okay. The gang and I will come to Hogwarts; you're not going to do this on your own."

"Thanks Buffy."

"Hey what are big sisters for? Can you arrange for Mumblemore to get us to Hogwarts?"

Dawn giggled. "It's Dumbledore and he's already said you're welcome."

"Good. We'll be there soon, I promise."

"'Kay. Bye Buffy."

"Bye, love you."

"I know. Love you too."

Dawn hung up the phone and Dumbledore appeared in the office doorway a moment later. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Buffy and the guys are going to come here as soon as possible."

Dumbledore nodded. "I thought as much." He pulled an envelope out of his desk and handed to Fawlks. "To Hagrid, please." The phoenix flew off and Dumbledore turned back to Dawn. "The envelope contains a port key that will bring your family back here."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it, believe me, it is the very least I could do. Have you had any more memories return?"

Dawn nodded. "It's like every time I close my eyes, I see her or some part of her life. It's all just too weird!"

"Dawn; you have to learn to deal with this or it'll drive you insane." Dumbledore said seriously.

"Drive me insane? I'm already halfway there! I mean, I just can't believe this is happening! Buffy's an aunt, I'm a mom to an eleven year old. How am I supposed to deal with this?"

"You don't have to worry about this now. I think you should tell him and then worry about that."

"Oh that'll be a fun conversation; hey Harry. You know that you thought your mom died ten years ago, well surprise! Creepy monks raised me and stuffed a whole bunch of shiny new memories in me, but now mommy's back; let's hug!"

"What?" A small voice said from the doorway. "What's going on?"

Dawn and Professor Dumbledore turned to see a shocked Harry with Ron two steps behind him. Oh no, he wasn't meant to find out like this.

"Harry-" Dawn started faintly.

"What's going on?" He repeated firmly.

Dawn looked to Dumbledore nervously. Looked like it was now or never then.

Was 'never' a viable option?

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Next chapter coming soon!

Please review!


	11. One to Go

**Thanks to the Reviewers:**

**Jules**: Thanks for reviewing, as always! The reason Dawn's a paselmouth is because of the key. You know serpents can see her for what she is blah, blah so it makes sense she has something of them in her…or it did when I was writing. Cliffies are fun, but if you don't like them you might not want to read the end of this chapter…

**Damia**: I might do a accompanying piece about her visit to the Dursley's as there has to be one, but it doesn't really fit in this fic. Yup, big violent smackdown is forthcoming!

**Allen Pitt**: Sirius Black plotline starts in this chapter (the end) and will pretty much carry on to the end of the fic. There are bound to be some interesting reactions, if I can write them right… Thanks for reviewing!

**Clcountry:** Thanks for the two reviews- mammoth reading sesh! Feel free to 'nag' at any inaccuracies. I tend to forget that when I write things for what seems like a perfectly good reason, people can't see inside my head to find said reason! Thanks for all your compliments, and for the cookie! I hope you like this chapter as much as the rest of the story.

**Buffy Fan:** I aim to please! Keep R&R-ing

**MaryAnn:** I hope the wait is worth it. Thanks for R&R

**Kat:** All reviews are welcome, even if they are eight chapters late! Keep reading!

**Megan (charmed angel4)**: Nope, never won't work- for one thing it would make the story _really_ short! Prepare for Buffy-y goodness! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Jase32**: Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Sired-by-Spike:** I take it you're a fan of all things Spike then? Sorry, not much 'spike-alike' in this chapter, but I am planning a couple of scenes with him in in the near future. Thanks for R&R

**Dannie (maleficus lupinus):** Thanks for R&R. People always pick the worst conversations to walking on!

**Mae:** Wow! Thanks for the compliment, but there must be loads of other fics out there way better. Have you read 'Key to Marauding'? If not, you should. It's awesome!

**Passionate Darkness**: I tried to make it original, I'm glad you think so! There's the next chapter, hope you like!

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: …ONE TO GO**

"What's going on?" Harry repeated more firmly.

Dawn stared at him in horror. How much had he heard? "N-nothing." She tried nervously.

Harry was shaking. "This is a joke, right? I mean, what you said…you're just joking."

"Harry-"

"No! You're lying! You're not her! You're lying!"

"Ron, perhaps you could go and prepare for your classes?" Dumbledore suggested to the wide eyed Gryffindor who left promptly. "Harry, Dawn, I think it would be best if you took a seat."

Harry took a chair as far away from Dawn as he could get. He was feeling numb and confused. She said that she was his mother, brought back from the dead by monks and then given new memories. How was that possible?

And how could her saying that she was send so many of his emotions into turmoil? Grief for his lost parents; anger that she would lie like this; confusion as to what the hell was happening and a tiny flicker of hope that she actually could be his mother.

"Harry," Dumbledore started; "I know this is hard for you to accept-"

Harry shook his head in disbelief.

"-but I need you to listen to me." When Harry offered no protest he continued. "Your mother died ten years ago to try and protect you from Voldemort, this much you know and this much is true. Her body was buried next to your fathers in the same cemetery as her parents."

Dawn stared down at her lap in silence. Harry seemed to be holding back tears. A strangled sob escaped his throat.

"Not long after that, a hell God named Glorificus attacked a monastery in the former Czechoslovakia that was the residence of the Key. If she got hold of the Key, then the world would end, so the monks made a decision. They would send the Key to be protected by the slayer to prevent Glorificus from getting it. They were to make the Key into a sister for the slayer to love and protect. But they needed a vessel to hold it-"

"No, stop. I don't want to hear this." Harry groaned.

Dumbledore continued anyway. "The vessel had to have enough magical potential to hold the Key, and they chose your mother, Harry. Her life with you and your father was erased from her memory and the way she looked completely altered. Professor Summers is really three beings in one body; the Key, your mother and just Dawn."

Harry glanced quickly at Dawn to see a couple of silent tears running down her cheeks. He looked back to Dumbledore again. "Why are you telling me this? Why are you lying to me?"

"He's not lying." Dawn said softly.

"It's not possible!" Denial was being replaced by anger.

"Apparently it is."

"No! No, no, no! I don't want to know about this. Get her away from me!" Harry shouted, pushing his chair further back so that it hit the book case behind him.

"Dawn perhaps it would be best if I spoke to Harry for a while? I believe your family has arrived and they will want to see you." Dumbledore suggested quietly.

Dawn looked hurt, but nodded and left the room anyway with one last look back at the quivering boy with his back to her. As she went down the stairs, she composed herself. She wiped the tears from her face and took a couple of deep breaths.

As she left the gargoyle behind, Dawn heard a couple of very familiar American accents coming from a room opposite.

"What do you mean, I can't? I want to see my sister now!" Buffy was shouting.

"Buffy?"

"Dawn!" The slayer leapt forward and gave Dawn a bone crushing hug.

"Air." Dawn stammered after a moment.

Buffy let her sister go and turned to Professor Snape who she'd been arguing with earlier. "Dawnie are you okay? You can go now, Sir Scowls-a-lot."

Snape glared at the petite blond. "Dumbledore instructed me not to leave you."

"Do you always do what Bumblewhore says?"

Snape just raised an eyebrow.

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_30th October 1994 –5:21 pm_

"Honey, I'm hoooome!"

Lily Potter smiled and shook her head slightly as her husband burst into their kitchen and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Heya. Good day?"

James ruffled his son's hair before opening a cupboard to find a 'small' snack for himself. "Not bad. I managed to sneak the papers ol' Dumbles wanted so we're ready for the meeting tomorrow."

Lily smiled. She knew her husband would prefer to have a more 'active' role in the Order of the Phoenix, but Harry's birth had seemed to curb that particular urge to some extent. "That's good… wait, there's a meeting tomorrow?"

"Yea- you know that Lils. You volunteered our house for it, remember?"

"That's tomorrow?" She squawked. "But the place is a mess! They can't come over when we're practically living in a pig sty!"

James looked around the tidy kitchen in amazement. "Lils, it's fine, honestly. Besides this is a hell of a lot tidier than the Longbottom's."

Lily was working herself up into a state. "But we're not the Longbottom's. I don't want them to think…"

"Think what?" James prompted.

"That we can't cope." Lily admitted.

"Why would they think that?"

Lily shot a pointed glance over to their son who had taken his parent's distraction as a perfect opportunity to cover himself in his dinner. "Oh Harry! What did you have to do that for? Why do you always have to make such a mess?" She was almost crying now, much to James' confusion.

"Lils…Lily, leave it."

"I-I can't. It'll st-stain." She sobbed.

James pulled the cloth she was using to clean Harry up with. "So just leave it, he's got plenty more white t-shirts. You're not super woman."

Lily sniffed. "I know, that's the problem. D-Don't you get it? They're all waiting for us to screw this up."

"Huh?"

"The Order, our friends, everyone! And then they'll say 'oh, they settled down to soon' and 'they're so stupid to have a baby so young'."

"So? We've already said that- we _did_ settle down too soon and we _did_ have Harry too young."

"But I don't want them to know it." Lily whined.

James bit his lip to stop himself laughing realising that his wife was being serious. He brushed her tears away. "Would you change any of it? The house, Harry…me?"

She surprised him by kissing him gently. "Not for anything."

James breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin- I don't know what I'd have done if you said 'yes'. How about you clean Harry up while I start on the cleaning?"

"You?" Lily gaped in shock. He'd never so much as picked up his own dirty towel before and now he was offering to clean?

"Yes, me. I happen to be an expert with the 'scrougify' I'll have you know." He grinned, happy to see his partner smiling again. "It'll be okay Tigerlily, I promise you."

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Dawn twiddled her thumbs nervously. Dumbledore was still talking to Harry, but he had promised to call her back as soon as Harry was ready.

Buffy was engaged in a staring contest with Professor Snape, until he raised his eyebrows in an attempt to look down at the slayer. Buffy snorted unimpressed and turned to have a conversation with Willow.

"Can you believe that guy?" Buffy said haughtily.

"Well you weren't exactly friendly, Buffy." Willow said earning her a glare from her friend. "Sorry about her." Willow said to Snape, ignoring Buffy's deepening glare.

Snape let out a long suffering sigh.

"I mean, she's a bit crazy really; if you're around her long enough you wake up one morning and realise she's driven you completely insane!"

Snape didn't crack a smile. "And this is the fighting force which have saved the world countless times? Those so-called-villains should be deeply ashamed of themselves." He muttered to himself.

"Hey!" Those in the room blessed with supernatural hearing complained.

Snape ignored them. "And they actually run a prestigious council? It's a wonder our world is still standing."

"No need to be all moody, cranky pants." Willow huffed. "I was just being friendly!"

"How much longer? They've been hours." Dawn whined.

"Dawnie, chill. They'll come for you when they're ready." Faith said casually.

"But-"

"Miss Summers, please stop your infernal whining. You're giving me a headache." Snape snapped.

Buffy glared at the Professor. "So take an aspirin, super-goth, in case you haven't noticed she's going through some stuff right now and the last thing she needs is some grease-ball like you on her case."

Dawn smiled. In here with Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles and even Faith and Andrew, things were familiar. She knew that they would protect her and she could almost pretend that none of this was happening… almost.

Snape scowled at the Americans and swept out of the room. He'd had enough of these 'bloody colonials' and wasn't going to be around them for a minute longer, Dumbledore's orders or not.

Willow crunched up her nose in distaste. "Well that was rude."

Buffy just grinned. "Not even here a day and already somebody hates us."

Dawn snorted. "You're not so special; he hates everyone!"

Professor McGonagall who had entered the room when Snape left nodded in agreement. "Severus doesn't much care for company. Dawn; are you ready?"

She gulped audibly. Harry was ready to speak to her. What was she going to say? She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Buffy hugged her sister. "It'll be okay."

Dawn nodded again and followed McGonagall out of the room.

Buffy shuffled nervously for her little sister. "This is so not gonna be okay."

"It could be, you never know." Willow said without conviction.

"How? Even if Harry automatically accepts her and they turn into the Brady Bunch, and I don't see that happening, how will it be okay? If he rejects her then she's gonna be crushed, but if he doesn't then she'll leave us."

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about what their lives would be like without Dawn.

"She might be my sister, but she's his mom. And he'll need her more then I do, more than we do."

"She won't just leave, Buffy." Giles assured her.

Buffy looked to her watcher. "You did."

"I moved away for a while, just like Dawn did when she moved to England. Nothing's going to take her away from you."

"But-"

"But nothing. She loves you; she loves everyone in this room. And if you love her as much as I do, then you won't tell her anything that we've said. What's happening, it's going to be hard enough on her as it is without having to worry about how you're taking it. She needs you to be strong for her, Buffy; she needs her sister. Can you handle that?"

She looked up to the man who had been a father to both her and Dawn for so many years. "I, yes."

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When Dawn went into the office, the first thing she noticed was Harry's pale, tired face. The second thing she noticed was Dumbledore's kindly smile.

"Have a seat, Miss Summers."

"I've told you before, it's just Dawn." She mumbled, sitting in the vacant chair.

The group sat in silence for a while. Harry seemed to be shifting through his thoughts. "Is it true?"

"Hasn't Dumbledore already told you that?" Dawn replied.

"I want to hear it from you." Harry said a bit harshly.

"Yes, it's true."

"Then why…why didn't you come back for me?"

Dawn's heart almost broke. She hadn't thought of it like that, but to a child's irrational mind then it would be easy to feel unwanted. "I didn't know, I swear it. When the monks sent me to Buffy, they filled my head with memories so that everyone would think I'd been part of the family for fourteen years and I guess they erased out the memories about Lily's- my old life."

"So you don't remember me?"

"I don't understand it. Ever since I was 're-created', I've had flashes of things that just didn't make sense until now. I lived in the muggle world so there wasn't really anything to prompt those memories to return until I met Professor Dumbledore and came to Hogwarts. I only found out about a few weeks ago."

"I don't understand."

"That makes two of us."

"I found a picture once, at my aunt's house. It was of the two of you just smiling…you look nothing like her."

"The monks changed all that."

Harry nodded, seemingly understanding. "I can't believe it, I though you were dead."

"Everyone did. And I guess I was really, I mean I didn't remember anything."

"How could you just forget like that? Forget this entire world, and my dad…and me. Wasn't I important?" He asked hurt.

"Of course you were! When I found out I was pregnant, I was still at Hogwarts. I was so scared to tell James but I shouldn't have been. He said that we'd be a family, just the three of us and that we'd never let anything happen to you. That year, you were the most important thing in either of our lives."

"Not important enough to remember though." Harry sulked.

"Look I'm sorry, but this hasn't exactly been a walk in the park for me either!"

Harry scowled. "I thought you were dead!"

"And I thought I was someone else." Dawn almost shrieked in agitation. "You think this is easy for me? First I find out that I'm not even real and now I find out I had an entire other life and that I didn't remember. But now I remember it and I feel like she would have." Dawn sighed. "A part of me wants to grieve for the man I loved, but another part of me is saying that I never knew him and it was over ten years ago. A part of me feels like I'm your mother."

Harry swallowed nervously. "What about the other part?"

Dawn smiled slightly. "The other part says I'm your teacher and, one day, your friend."

Harry smiled back at her awkwardly, still totally blown away by this revelation. He thought back through all the encounters he'd had with 'Professor Summers' and then through his time with the Dursley's. Each time he had been knocked about by Dudley and his friends or his uncle had yelled at him he had wished for something like this. But it was still totally unbelievable. He didn't know this woman. What did she expect, for them to become a big family?

As if reading his thoughts, Dawn addressed all Harry's worries. "I know this is really weird, for both of us, and I don't expect for everything to magically be alright between us, I just want you to give it a chance. I can't stop these feelings and I don't know what I'll do if…" She took a steadying breath. "I just want a chance."

Harry thought about it. He wanted it, but what if it didn't work. He didn't feel anything about her, but if it worked out then he would have almost everything he wanted. "I'll try."

Dawn grinned in relief at his decision and Dumbledore smiled in satisfaction. If Harry had not wanted this to go any further then he couldn't have forced him to, but that could've been disastrous for both Dawn and the rest of the wizarding world.

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"So, what's the battle plan for now?" Buffy asked as the group ate dinner in the Great Hall.

"Well, we don't really follow a plan. We just go where we are needed." Dumbledore admitted.

"What? So you just clear up this Voodoo guy's messes? Well there's where you've been going wrong."

"Excuse me?" McGonagall replied stiffly.

"If you're always on the defensive then how do you expect to win?" Faith said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Exactly." Buffy said passionately. "You have to figure out what the opposition are going to do and then stop it before it happens. Trust me Mr. Bumblebore, I'm an expert."

"It's Dumbledore." Willow hissed.

"We have a spy in Voldemort's inner circle." Dumbledore revealed quietly. "He is currently gathering information for us. He will return to us this evening."

"Right; then let's go and get ready. We could be going to battle tonight; we have to start suiting up." Buffy said rising from her seat.

"Take it easy, B." Faith advised.

"Buffy, there is absolutely no point in preparing for a fight that may not, probably won't, come. We just have to wait for this spy to return." Giles said pinching the bridge of his nose as he often did when he was around Buffy or the rest of his 'family'.

"That could take hours!" Buffy whined, but sitting back down nonetheless.

"Do a crossword!" Giles snipped.

Buffy glared at her former watcher. "Do you always have to be like that?"

"Like what?"

"So British! We'd started to cure you of it but then you come back here and all our hard work is ruined!"

"Err, Buff? If you're gonna insult the Brits, do it when you're not hideously outnumbered." Dawn advised. She had, for the most part, been very quiet that evening so Buffy was glad to see her say something. All she'd said about what was exchanged between her and Harry was that they were going to see what happened, and that they were going to talk tomorrow when 'everyone had calmed down a bit'.

"I'm not outnumbered that much! I've got Xander and Willow and Faith!"

"And me!" Andrew piped in.

Dawn ignored the nerd. "So you four, against twenty teachers and about one thousand kids? Who all know how to use a wand? Yeah, you guys stand a chance!" She scoffed.

Buffy looked around the hall anxiously. "They're all British?"

"It's a British school, Buffy!"

"Oh my God! We're being invaded!"

Dawn almost pointed out everything that was wrong with that sentence, but decided that it was better not to confuse her sister so she settled for a very patronising "yes, Buffy" instead.

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Harry had not gone to dinner. Neither had Ron or Hermione. It didn't seem like it but there had only been about an hour after he had left Dumbledore's office until the meal. Instead, he was telling his friends about what had happened in Dumbledore's office. Ron knew a little, but barely anything and Hermione only knew what Ron had told her.

Harry had told them everything; how Dawn had totally forgotten about everything because some monks gave her new memories and then coming back to Hogwarts had prompted her to remember. Dumbledore had told him a little of Dawn's life including that she was the Key and he told his friends this after swearing them to secrecy, of course.

"So what are you going to do now?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged. "Who knows? I told her I'd give her a chance, and if that all works then I dunno."

"What's not to know? If she's your mum then she's your family." Ron said simply.

"It's not that simple, Ron." Hermione chastised gently.

"Wouldn't it be nice if it were though?" Harry said humourlessly. "I don't know anything about her... I don't feel anything for her."

"Sure you do." Ron said.

"No, I don't."

"You do; remember you told me that whenever you were around her you felt like there was something you should know? That you felt all tingly and weird?"

Harry frowned. "I guess…"

"Maybe it just takes time. This could be the greatest thing that'll ever happen to you!" Hermione said brightly.

"Well it's defiantly the most confusing." Harry said with a smile.

"Do you want my advice?" Hermione started.

"Do I have a choice?"

She ignored him. "Give it a go. What do you have do lose? If it doesn't work out you just go back to the Dursley's like nothings happened and she can go back to her old family. You'll regret it if you don't."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense. Thanks Hermione."

"Don't mention it." Hermione said, but obviously pleased at being able to help her friend in something other than homework.

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The following morning brought Dawn and Harry's meeting. It was another weekday, but Harry had been excused from that morning's classes for 'personal reasons'. Dumbledore had left the mother and son to get to know each other a bit better. Since then, there had been an uncomfortable silence.

Dawn took a deep breath. "Harry," she started, "I really don't know what I'm doing here. The mother in me has been dead for the last ten years. What do you want from this?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I don't know if we can be…you know."

"Mother and son? It's okay I get it." She said visibly deflating.

"I think I need time to get used to it."

Dawn nodded. "I can deal with that."

Another silence overtook them.

Harry shifted in his seat and decided to take the plunge. "So, professor-"

"It's Dawn."

"Dawn, why did you come to Hogwarts?"

"I used to work at a supernatural lawyer firm and Professor Dumbledore visited one time. He, somehow, found out who I was and invited me to Hogwarts, supposedly to see if the war going on here would be suitable for slayer participation, but I guess they've kinda been dragged into it now."

Harry smiled weakly. "Umm okay. So, you know some slayers? We talked about them in history of magic a few weeks ago. I wouldn't normally remember anything from that class, but I found it quite interesting."

"Glad to hear it. Did Professor Dumbledore tell you about my sister, Buffy? No? Well she was this generation's first slayer until the rest were activated by Willow. Did you cover that in History of Magic?"

"Yeah, there was an interview with her in 'Witch Weekly' that we had to read."

"I didn't know Wills did an interview. Anyway, after the big fight I went with Buffy to Italy and got my high school diploma and then went on to a nearby uni when we moved back to America. But I got sick of just being Buffy's sister so I came to England and moved into the slaying centre with Giles, who's like our father figure. In England, I was far enough away from Buffy to lead my own life, but close enough to still be in the loop- after seeing what I did I couldn't just forget about it and lead a normal life. So I ended up helping out with the slayers every now and then, which is why I got sent here."

"What about your real father?"

"He abandoned Buffy and me a few years after the divorce. And Mom died from a brain tumour when I was fourteen."

"I'm sorry." Harry was surprised. He'd pictured Dawn as having the perfect family.

"Don't be- wasn't your fault. What about you? What's your life been like?"

"Fine." Harry said shortly.

"Well, who have you been living with?" Dawn coaxed trying to draw him out.

"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon."

"What? But we barely talked since she found out I was a witch."

Harry shrugged uncomfortably. "They were the only ones left."

Dawn was quiet for a moment. Harry had really been left all alone. "I'm sorry. What was it like there?"

Harry paused before answering; something told him that Dawn wanted an honest answer. "It was horrible. They hate me and didn't care if they showed it. They told me you died in a car crash."

Dawn stared in disbelief. Lily's memories told her that Petunia had disapproved of the magical element in her life, but she hadn't expected this. "I can't believe she would do that! You're her family, her nephew!"

"It's okay, really." Harry said embarrassed.

"No, it's not." Dawn said quietly, but she let the subject rest.

The two talked until lunchtime when Dumbledore reappeared to see how everything went. Harry was about to go off to lunch and Dawn to finish preparing that afternoon's classes when he turned hesitantly to speak to her.

"Can we, I mean do you want to do this again?"

Dawn smiled widely. "If you want to."

Harry returned the smile. "Tomorrow's Saturday..?"

"Tomorrow then? But can we make it the afternoon? I've got something I need to do in the morning."

"Sure." Harry said before leaving.

Dawn smiled to herself. It would take a while, but she actually believed that things were going to work out for the two of them.

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"Dawn!"

Dawn turned to see who was calling her. "Heya Buffy. What's up?"

"Nothing. How'd it go today?" Buffy asked. She was more than a little freaked out by all this, but she knew she had to stay strong for Dawn's sake. This was hard enough on her as it was.

Dawn smiled. "Better. I can actually see this working."

"That's great." Buffy said, but she couldn't quite summon up the emotion in her voice.

"What is it? Aren't you happy for me?"

"Of course I am. Just…don't forget you've got a family with us as well, okay?"

"As if I could. You know what I really want? One family with everyone in it- you, me, the scoobs and Harry."

Buffy smiled at her sister. "Maybe one day."

"Would you mind?"

"No." Buffy said after some consideration. They got on much better these days, her and Dawn. Maybe it was because Buffy wasn't as smothering as she used to be, or maybe Dawn had matured. Whatever it was, the Summers sisters got on a lot better when there was an ocean separating them for most the time. "So when am I going to meet my nephew?"

Dawn thought about it for a moment, allowing Lily's instincts to come through as she often did nowadays- her former self was more cautious and tending to think things through more. "Not yet. Can we let him get used to me first before I overwhelm him with the Scoobies?"

"It could be a bit overwhelming, huh?"

Dawn laughed. "Just a little. I may never let him meet Andrew; poor kid's done nothing to deserve that!"

"Have any of us? Seriously though, we're going to do this right, Dawnie; I promise. It's all gonna work out." Buffy assured her sister.

"You know, I think it might."

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Dawn handed over the letter anxiously. She'd spoken to Dumbledore and he'd understanded why she needed to do this. Which was lucky because without his influence she'd never have been aloud to make this visit. She juts hoped it was worth it.

A few eyebrows had been raised at her appearance (well, only two actually due to the lack of humans who worked there), but one of the two with a pulse had lead her down a cold, dark corridor to wait in a dingy room that held nothing but an old table and two wooden chairs.

"Sit at the table. I'll be watching you both the whole time. He'll be here shortly." The guard had said shortly.

He hated his job but he, and the only other human that worked there, were squibs brought up in the magical world. They had no muggle qualifications and no magical ability so this was the only job available for them. The ministry had wanted someone to deal with all the administration work and he'd got the job.

Moments later, a pale, skinny man was lead into the room looking very confused. He went to the table and Dawn stood to greet him.

"Hello Padfoot."

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Please review!


	12. Facing Old Demons

**Thanks to all the reviewers:**

**Mae**: I'm glad you like- lots of Padfoot in this chapter, and the next, and the next…

**Gabriel Darke: **Every bit of feedback is appreciated! Thanks for R&R

**Passionate Darkness: **I feel certain that it won't last forever, sorry, probably about four more chapters. I'm keeping quiet about the pairings for now, but this isn't a paring fic i.e. it won't play a big part.

**Steff** (sired by spike): Much more Sirius to come! I am shocked that you would imply that something bad will happen! cackles evilly and thinks to what is in store for characters Thanks for R&R.

**Bob the Almighty:** Thanks, originality was one of my big influences in writing this, so it's great to hear it paid off. I hope you like this chapter as well…

**Tap Dancing Willow**: Harry's in his first year, but obviously it goes a bit AU. Thanks for R&R.

**Megan **(charmed angel 4): Andrew rocks! He's just so clueless! I really love getting your reviews- they're like my own personal highlights file!

**Damia Queen of the Gypsi's:** I'm a big fan of the Faith/ Sirius pairing, so if it can be worked into the storyline without being too distracting or out of place then it'll be there- so maybe! Thanks for R&R

**MaryAnn: **Thank you, thank you, thank you! Keep R&R!

**Clcountry:** Buffy and Harry will meet soon- in the next chapter to be exact. Thanks for R&R!

**Jules **(the Lady Morgaine): Hope your finals went well! Buffy/ Snape is great to write! Thanks for R&R

**Technocratic Sith Lord**: Cliff-hanger? What is this cliff-hanger of which you speak? grins evilly Thanks for R&R!

**Raiining:** Thanks for all the reviews- I hope you like this chapter as well!

**Jase:** Who is a fan of the cliff-hanger? Woo 100th REVIEWER! Thanks for R&R!

**A/N: **I've entered my big exam fortnight now, so I probably won't be updating for a couple of weeks. But keep on reviewing!

**CHAPTER TWELVE: FACING OLD DEMONS**

She was lead down a cold, dark corridor into an empty room holding nothing but a table and two chairs.

"Sit at the table. I'll be watching you both the whole time. He'll be here shortly." The guard had said curtly.

Moments later, a pale, skinny man was lead into the room looking very confused. He went to the table and Dawn stood to greet him.

"Hello Padfoot."

Sirius Black looked at the woman sitting before him sharply. "How did you know my name?"

His voice sounded gruff with the lack of use. He'd barely used it in ten years.

"Does it matter?" Dawn answered. After Lily had left Hogwarts, she'd lost contact with her female friends; Harry had taken up most of her time and the Order the rest of it. So she had become close friends with Remus and Sirius, not as much with Peter as he hadn't really been trusted with that big of a role in the order and wasn't around as much. "How've you been?"

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Sirius countered.

"I work at Hogwarts, Dumbledore got me in." Dawn revealed, successfully avoiding both questions.

But Sirius wasn't about to be put off. "You didn't answer my questions."

"I know." Dawn grinned inwardly as Sirius sighed in frustration. But her visit didn't last long so she had to move it along. "It was Peter wasn't it?"

Sirius stared at her in disbelief. He knew what the mysterious stranger was talking about, how could he not? But for the last decade people had regarded him with hate whenever he had brought up the subject. "What? How did you know that?"

"Just tell me." She needed to be sure about this or else everything else, all she remembered, could be a lie.

"Yes." He spoke evenly, his voice not betraying the complete and utter mystification he was feeling- who was this woman? How did she know?

"I knew it." Dawn said, more to herself than to Sirius.

"How?" Sirius asked totally confused. He'd tried to convince people he was innocent, but no-one had believed him and now a total stranger 'knew it'.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Dawn said. "I'll get you out of here,  
I promise."

"Yeah. Right."

"Hey, I always come through with my promises, even for an arrogant git like you." Dawn joked, forgetting to screen her previous life from the man opposite her for a moment.

Confusion crossed Sirius' face as he stared at Dawn. After a moment Dawn got uncomfortable and looked down.

Sirius leaned over and grabbed Dawn's shoulder. He twisted it so that she was looking up and looked into her eyes. "Lily?"

"H-how did you know?"

"You've called me an arrogant git so many times; no-one's ever said it like you… Besides, you have her eyes." Sirius smiled softly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I thought you were dead."

"I was. This is going to be really hard to believe, Padfoot, but you have to trust me."

Sirius nodded sincerely. "I do."

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"Time's up." The guard reappeared in the room.

"Just five more minutes?" Dawn begged.

The guard shrugged. It made no difference to him. "Five minutes."

After the guard left the room, Sirius turned back to Dawn quickly. "What about James?"

Dawn looked down, sadness flooding her features. "There's no chance of him coming back. I asked Dumbledore a few days ago, if I could just see him one more time…"

"I know."

"But he's gone. Cause of that bastard. I won't let him get away with it; and I want you out of here back where you belong."

Sirius smiled. Lily had always been passionate about her family. "Not that easy Tigerlily. I'm a convicted murderer and you're dead, no offence."

"None taken, I guess you'll have to break out then."

"Escape from the Azkaban? Why didn't I think of that, oh I know, because it's impossible! They'll give me the kiss before I get fifty yards!"

Dawn/ Lily worked a thought over in her head. "Not if they didn't detect you…do you remember dada in the fifth year?"

Sirius snorted. "Yeah right."

"We learnt about dementors..? They are much less sensitive to animals i.e. a dog? I swear Padfoot, how you graduated is beyond me."

He gave her a doggish smile, but turned serious quickly. "Do you think that'll work?"

Dawn shrugged. "I hope so. When do you want to do it?"

"Tonight? As soon as possible; I have to get out of here. I can try and slip past them when they bring my food. Will you wait for me?"

"Of course, but I don't think I can change into my animagus form anymore."

"Why not? You caught on really quickly when Prongs decided to teach you."

"I told you I only found out about this life a few weeks ago and my magic's been kinda wonky since then."

"But it's not magic; it's calling on your inner dog, or in your case your inner dove, and asking them to guide you."

"Wow- I think that's the most intellectual thing I've ever heard you say."

"Ha bloody ha." Sirius said dryly as the door opened again and the guard insisted on Dawn leaving. As she left the room, she turned and mouthed to Sirius:' Until tonight.' And then she was gone.

The only other human guard in the Azkaban can to lead Sirius back to his cell, but he stopped Sirius from actually entering.

"Not so fast, Black. Strip search."

"No way! You've got to be kidding me?"

"You had a visitor; it's common procedure. Now move it!"

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"Wait!"

Dawn froze as the guard called her. "Yes?"

"You forgot your wand. And while you're here, do you wish to pick up Mr. Black's personal items? He won't be coming out and you're his first visitor so…"

"I'll take them." Dawn said, curious to see what Sirius had had on his person when he had been arrested.

A small knapsack was handed to her and she was escorted off the premises where she got on the boat that would take her to dry land.

Half an hour later, she was standing on the shore looking towards the Azkaban wondering how to get back to Sirius without being discovered. Maybe she should try the animagus thing, but it had been years. James had decided to teach her how to become an animagus like himself a few weeks before they were married. It had taken a long time, but eventually she had managed to turn into a white dove.

Dawn sat on the floor and began a few of the meditation techniques Buffy had taught her to free her mind. Then she pictured herself flying free, like her form. Sirius had been right; there was no actual wand magic involved in changing forms. Dumbledore had said she had the magic in the blood; she just had to access it and control it.

It took several attempts, but eventually, Dawn was flying over the water in the form of a dove. She'd forgotten how good it felt; so peaceful and contented. She perched on the high wall that ran around the wizarding prison. She sat there for a couple of hours until she heard a low bark from the ground; Sirius.

As Dawn flew down, she heard the sounds of an alarm being raised. The dementors had sensed that Sirius wasn't in his cell and were hunting for them. Padfoot barked again urgently and jumped into the water. The big, black dog swam as fast as his paws would carry him and the Lily-dove flew a few inches above him.

They reached the land without being detected and before the aurors arrived to search the prison for the seemingly escaped prisoner. No one was too worried- it was impossible to escape from the Azkaban.

Dawn lead Sirius to the secluded spot where she had hidden her wand and the belongings she'd collected from the guard.

Sirius broke the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them. "You left your wand here?"

"I'm not very good with it." Dawn explained.

"But you were always so talented."

"Yeah well, that was a life time ago…literally."

Sirius looked at her for a minute. "What else has changed?"

"Nothing's changed, it's just different. I have two lives going on- Dawn Summers and Lily Potter. I remember what I should and I feel what I should; I just don't know which one's real."

"Maybe they're both real." Sirius suggested. "We should go."

He transformed back into a dog and picked up the bag with their stuff in in his mouth. Dawn got out the port key Dumbledore had made her and activated it with one hand on Sirius.

The next thing they knew, they were just outside the grounds of Hogwarts. Dawn had landed on her ass again so there was a very amused dog standing above her, grinning at the witch at his feet.

"Oh shut up."

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"Buffy I really don't think that-"

"This is a good idea? We know Giles, you've said. But I want to pound something…now!"

"Same here." Faith injected.

"Professor Dumbledore explicitly told everyone to stay away from the forbidden forest. He would not do that without a reason." Giles said.

"What reason could there be for wanting us out? So what if there are demons in there? We're slayers for chrissakes! We slay things, the clue's in the title."

"I believe he did not want the little girls to get hurt." A silky voice said from the shadows as Snape stepped forward towards the group.

Giles felt Buffy tense ready to spring at the moody professor. "Ah no Buffy, that will not help."

Faith started forward. "Don't worry B, I've got it."

"No!" Giles commanded.

"Now I see where the younger Miss Summers gets it from." Snape said looking down his long nose. "But then I suppose some things never change."

"What that supposed to… oh I get it. You knew this Lily girl."

Snape nodded curtly. "I did."

Buffy hooked his arm in his quickly before he could run off. "So that means you can tell me about her. What was her view on the dark arts? Did she ever go evil? She didn't have a history of kleptomania did she? What about…"

Faith and Giles watched the blond slayer go off with the irritated and a little petrified potions master.

"I guess your patrol is off." Giles said smugly.

Faith sighed. "And I was jonesing for a work out…wait, how old are the seventh years here?"

"I would presume most of them are seventeen- Faith don't you dare!"

"Why not? It's perfectly legal…at least in England it is."

"Faith." Giles growled warningly.

"Relax G-Man; I was just messing with ya." Faith laughed before heading back towards their suite of rooms.

"Honestly!" Giles muttered before calling after the brunette slayer, "And don't call me that!"

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Knock, knock, knock.

"One minute!" Dawn called out. "Hide." Her voice turned to an urgent whisper. It was unlikely that the school would approve of her hiding an escaped convict in her room.

Thirty seconds later Dawn opened the door to see Mindy- one of the house elves. "Please miss; Mr. Dumbledore asks you to come to his office."

"What, now?"

"Yes miss."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute."

Mindy bowed her head in a gesture of both respect and understanding and left. A freshly bathed and groomed Sirius poked his head out the cupboard door. "I heard; you better go before Dumbledore suspects something."

Dawn nodded and hurried to the headmaster's office. When she got there, she was surprised to see two official looking gentlemen in black robes with an intricate silver badge sewn on the front.

"Ah, Miss Summers, thank you for coming so quickly. This is Mr. Snippet and Mr. Quik from the Ministry of Magic; they wish to ask you some questions about the disappearance of a Sirius Black from the Azkaban earlier today."

Dawn feigned a look of surprise. "Of course. I'll help in any way I can." She said dutifully.

"Thank you. You visited Mr. Black early this afternoon, did you not?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"I, err, recently returned to the wizarding world after a prolonged break. I was a friend of Lily Potter's family and wanted to see him."

"I see." Quik said whilst Snippet magically took notes down. "I have to ask you this Miss Summers; did you aid the escape of Sirius Black in any way?"

Dawn didn't falter. "No."

"Where were you between three fifteen and three forty-five this afternoon?"

"I'd already come back to Hogwarts."

"Any witnesses?"

"Yes, me." Dumbledore spoke up. "I wished to discuss with Miss Summers how her meeting went so she came straight to my office."

"Thank you Professor Dumbledore, Miss Summers. That is all for now, but we will be contacting you later."

Dawn nodded in understanding. Best not leave the country then.

The two aurors left quickly through floo and Dawn got up to leave the office.

"Not so fast, Miss Summers. I think we need to have a little talk, don't you?"

Dawn turned back to the headmaster and smiled weakly. "Yes, sir."

He frown sternly and crossed his arms across his chest. "You helped a highly dangerous criminal charged with your murder escape from a tightly guarded prison and now the magical law enforcement is on your case? Well this is a sticky wicket, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir." Dawn said again, even if she didn't really know what a 'sticky wicket' was. "Err how…sticky would you say?"

His frown deepened. "Very sticky, Miss Summers; very sticky indeed."

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Dawn headed back to her rooms quickly. Dumbledore had been surprisingly supportive; it seemed he believed her when she told him about the way she remembered the 'event' as she'd taken to calling it. It was always 'that thing' or 'Halloween'. Never the night she and James died.

"Dawnie!" An annoyingly familiar voice called from the shadows before leaping forward and enveloping her in a hug.

"Hey Andrew." Dawn grimaced.

"I've missed you! Xander doesn't play chess very well, although he does have the Startrek box set…"

"I've…missed you to, Andrew. But I'm kind of in a hurry."

"I understand. Busy, busy, trying to find a way to stop Darth Vader and Voltron." Andrew said knowledgably.

"Huh? Have you been speaking to Buffy by any chance?"

"Ya, ya."

"It's Death Eaters and Voldemort. She's got some kind of name problem and mixes it up sometimes."

"Oh." Andrew said, clearly disappointed.

"Sorry." Dawn said, guilty for breaking the nerd's dreams. "I really have to go."

"Sure. See ya."

Dawn left quickly. Although Andrew was no-where near as bad as he was, he still creeped her out a little.

"Professor!"

Dawn dimly heard someone calling, but didn't connect herself with the 'Professor' title yet so continued walking.

"Professor! …Dawn!"

It was Harry. She stopped suddenly and turned to see him with Ron and Hermione. "Heya Harry; what's up?"

Harry looked at his friends uncomfortably; he still felt a bit awkward discussing this. "We were supposed to meet up this afternoon."

"Oh God. I'm so sorry. I got held up at my…meeting. I only got back an hour or so ago."

"Dumbledore told me."

"He did?" How did Dumbledore always know what was happening? It was so annoying!

"Well it's his office so he was in there and told me. So…"

"Oh, I know! Why don't I give you the password to my suite? That way if I'm not about you can find me and we don't have to keep meeting in Dumbledore's office."

Harry smiled genuinely. "I'd like that."

"Okay." She looked at Ron and Hermione who were still standing there. "You three can't tell anyone."

"We won't" they promised.

"It's poodle."

"Poodle?" Hermione asked. "Like the dog?"

Dawn shrugged. "I needed something no one would guess."

"Oh, all right." Hermione gave her teacher an odd look.

"Well, we better get to the library." Harry said a little shyly.

Dawn smiled. "Sure see you later."

It wasn't until she got part way down the corridor that she remembered Sirius. Oh well, Harry would have to be told at some point, especially now she'd given him an all access pass to her room.

"Dawn!"

"What now!" Dawn groaned turning around to look at her newest pursuer. "Oh, hi Giles."

"I wanted to tell you how sorry I am- I should have told you."

She shrugged. "Hindsight's great, but it doesn't change anything."

"I know…I understand now why the first council fired me. It's a dangerous thing, love- as you well know. It can cloud your judgement. You want to keep the people you love safe so badly, you can't bear to hurt them in anyway."

"You should have told me."

"I know- Dawn, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."

"Honestly, Giles, right now I'm just too tired to care."

And that hurt more than her screams ever could.

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Harry, Ron and Hermione headed towards the library.

"Things seem to be going well between you two." Hermione said.

"Yeah; I think they are." Harry said, unable to stop the huge grin from breaking out on his face as it often did when he thought about Dawn.

"You think they are?" Ron questioned.

"Well it's a bit weird, but I think that one day I might be able to, you know…"

"Think of her as your mother?" Hermione finished.

Harry nodded. "Well it's what we both want." He reasoned. "Why shouldn't it work out?"

"That's really good, mate." Ron said warmly.

Hermione bit her lip. She'd known this for a while, but hadn't wanted to break Harry's hopes. "It's not that easy though."

"Why not?"

"Well, everyone thinks Lily Potter is dead. If Dawn suddenly says that she's her then everyone will think she's crazy." Hermione explained.

"Well…maybe I can say she's a distant relative or something."

"Do you think any of the authorities would agree with that? They'd arrest her for kidnapping or something. I'm sorry, Harry."

"No- it has to work, we have to think of something." Harry started to walk away from his friends.

"Harry-"

"No. I'm going to think of something. I can't give up on this."

"I know. We'll help you, won't we Ron." Hermione offered.

"All the way. Forget Flitwick's essay; let's go to the common room now." Ron suggested, glad to get out of homework for that evening.

Hermione pursed her lips, but offered no protest so the group abandoned their homework to try and think of a way for Harry to get his family back.

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"Well," Dawn said as she entered her room; "the ministry are on your case, but Dumbledore believes us. He'll come by and see you soon."

"Great." Sirius smiled; things were coming together. "Where'd you get off to?"

Dawn groaned and slid her back down the wall so she was sitting on the floor. "These aurors are investigating me over your escape. They think I helped."

Sirius smirked at the indignant tone in her voice. "Well you kinda did."

"But they shouldn't think I would, it's insulting, that's what it is. It's an insult to my character!"

Sirius shook his head in amusement. "Are you in trouble?"

"Not if they don't find out!" She grinned wickedly, giving him a glimpse to the new person she was. He didn't like it and pushed it to the back of his mind to think about later.

"Lily-"

"It's Dawn now." She corrected quietly.

Sirius glanced at her oddly, but made no comment, once again choosing to think about it later. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

"And I won't- trust me. I've got a knack for getting out of seemingly impossible situations."

"You do?" Sirius said doubtfully.

"Uh-huh. This one time when I was fifteen, I was captured by a singing demon and he wanted me to be his hell bride. There were lots of dramatic sing songs and a few people spontaneously combusted but I got out of it, well Buffy got me out of it, but still…"

"Who's Buffy?"

"She's who the monks sent me too- the slayer."

"Wow- the slayer? Not too shabby."

Dawn laughed. "Not at all, until her supernatural hearing ruins all your fun!"

Sirius grinned again, looking so much like James that she felt her heart wrench.

"So, _Dawn_; I want to hear about this glamorous other life you've been living... I want to get to know you again."

Dawn smiled. "Well, I guess even out of the magical world I've constantly been around magic…"

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"It seems like you lived a pretty exciting life in Sunnydale." Sirius commented several hours later when Dawn had told him a lot of what happened.

"And that's just the stuff I was actually there for- one time I'll have to tell you about how at Buffy's graduation the city mayor turned into a giant snake demon and ate my future principal."

"A giant snake demon? That sounds like something my mother would like."

"What happened to your dear mother? Last I heard she disowned you."

"I got a notification in the Azkaban regarding her death. And I was blasted off the family tree for being a muggle lover. Merlin; if old ma could see me now in the company of an almost-muggle…she'll be looking up at us and screaming for sure." Sirius gave a dry laugh.

"Looking up at us?"

"You think that murderous bitch is anywhere but hell?" There was no malice in his voice- he was just stating a fact.

Dawn slapped his arm half heartedly. "Be nice." They locked eyes, and for a moment Dawn saw everything she had seen in James all those years ago.

Sirius grinned. He shuffled closer to Dawn on the floor. "I can't believe you're back."

"Most days, neither can I." Dawn sighed.

Sirius smiled understandably and leant over to give her what was supposed to be a quick peck on the lips. It lasted a longer than it should have and at some point during it, Dawn found herself kissing him back. More surprisingly, she liked it. But this was Padfoot! James' best friend? The pain in her ass? He was so much like James it was unbelievable. They'd always had similar personalities, but Sirius had taken longer to mature. They even looked alike. But that was no excuse; she should stop this right now. Problem was that while one part of her brain was thinking this, the other was concentrating on thoroughly kissing Sirius.

Sirius' mind was also in two halves. It was his late best friend's wife who had just come back from the dead and busted him out of wizarding prison. Did he care? Not at this moment, no.

They were so engrossed with their current task that neither of them heard the portrait entrance open.

"Hello! I wanted to talk about-" Harry trailed off at what he saw. After literally hours of thinking, the 'golden trio' had come up with nothing so Hermione had suggested asking Dawn's advice. But he had picked the worst moment to use the password. He took a step backwards towards the portrait hole before turning and bolting from the room.

"Shit." Dawn cursed getting to her feet.

Sirius was still staring at the spot where Harry had stood mere moments ago. "That was Harry?"

Dawn didn't answer him; she was already over to the portrait hole. She had to follow her son.

"Harry, wait! Come back!"

Sirius smacked his head against the wall. How could he have been so stupid? Now he'd quite possibly lost the one person who really believed him and ruined the budding relationship between her and her son.

Not bad for an hour's work.

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Next Chapter: 'Add A Little Angst' so guess what; it's not all full of fluffy bunnies and puppy dogs!

Please Review- you know you want too!


	13. Add A Little Angst

**Thanks Reviewers:**

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**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ADD A LITTLE ANGST**

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

_29th October 1994 –3:43 pm_

"Harry, please…"

Lily put her baby down in his Moses basket and rocked it to and fro in an attempt to pacify the crying one-year-old. She knew being a mother would be difficult, but she never expected it to be so lonely. All of her old friends from Hogwarts had either gone on to further study or had gone into their first jobs and James was at work or doing recon for the Order so he wasn't about either.

There was a short break in Harry's crying as someone knocked on the door and he looked up inquisitively, but as soon as the knocking stopped he started crying again.

"Come on Harry." She cast an anxious look towards her son before hurrying to the door and opening it. "Oh it's you, Sirius, come in quickly- I've left Harry in his cot. He's been grisly all morning."

Sirius shut the door behind him. "Hey, Lils. Do you want me to have a go?"

"Have a go at what?"

He gestured towards the baby in the basket. "I am his Godfather."

She shrugged. "Sure, but he's been whiny all day."

Sirius picked up his godson with a big smile on his face and began jogging him up and down on his hip. "Hey there Harry-boy, what's all this about?"

Lily smiled. "I'll go put the kettle on."

When she returned five minutes later, Sirius had managed to calm Harry down. "Here." She said, handing him the tea and taking her yawning baby back.

"I just came to drop off this letter for Prongs, it's from Dumbledore. Some kind off mission or something."

"But you'll stay for a bit, right?"

"Er, I guess I could if-"

"You have to stay. I'm going out of my mind with no one to talk to every single day. I just want an adult conversation. Please, Sirius."

"Okay, okay." He grinned as something occurred to him. "You'd class me as adult conversation?"

"Well I'm desperate. I have to take what I can get." Lily replied, managing to keep her face straight.

"Oh." He said quietly, looking like a kicked puppy.

She rolled her eyes. "Give me a break Sear, if James can't pull the wounded puppy routine with me there's no chance that you'll be able to."

He grinned. "Admit it, you don't hate me!"

"I never hated you Sirius."

He cocked an eyebrow disbelievingly. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean you're immature, lazy, arrogant, juvenile, cocky-"

"And these are reasons you don't hate me?"

Lily carried on, taking no notice of the interruption. "-and at times downright stupid. But I married a man with all of those qualities, Merlin knows why, so either I'm crazy or I see something in them."

"Aww Tiger lily- that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Sirius clasped his hand to his heart dramatically.

She slapped his arm playfully. "Shut up and drink your tea."

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Two sets of footsteps echoed down the stone corridors of Hogwarts School.

"Harry, wait!"

Harry finally reached the safety of the Gryffindor tower.

The fat lady looked up in surprise at the sprinting student. "Harry! Are you alright, my boy? You have a face like a yard of gravy!"

"Pindylake." He panted, ignoring the portrait and tumbled into through into the common room.

Dawn put on an extra burst of speed to get through the door before it closed. She made it, just, and followed Harry up the stairs into the boys' dorm room.

The occupants of the Gryffindor looked on. First they had seen the famous Harry Potter leg it up the stairs and then the muggle defence professor had followed him.

Ron and Hermione shared anxious glances. What had gone wrong now?

"Well there's something you don't see every day." Fred Weasley commented.

"Indeed not." George agreed.

"Well maybe once…" Fred continued.

"Or twice…" George finished.

"But definitely not every day."

"Maybe our dear brother knows what's happening."

"I don't." Ron answered sharply.

"Come on, Ronniekins…"

"You must know something…"

"Anything…"

"Anything at all?"

"Well I don't. Come on, Hermione." The only two people who could tell them anything of what was happening left, leaving the rest to speculate about the cause for the scene.

"Maybe Harry declared his undying love for the professor and she shot him down."

"Or maybe she declared her undying love for Potter…never mind."

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Like many eleven year old boys would, Harry had bitten back the tears and replaced them with a sullen scowl and a glare at the woman who had just entered his room.

"Go away."

"Harry, it's not what you think…"

"Oh? So you weren't kissing some guy? A guy who isn't my dad?"

Okay, maybe it was what he thought.

"Just let me explain, please." Dawn begged.

"Who was he?"

Dawn paused. She didn't really think that 'he used to be your fathers best friend, but then he was sent to prison for our murder' would go down so well. "He's no one."

"So you just kiss anyone?" Harry's voice was laced with sarcasm.

"No, I mean, he was a friend from a long time ago."

"How long?"

"We were both in Gryffindor." Dawn answered, telling Harry that it had been one of Lily's friends.

Harry looked a bit sick. "Did my dad know?"

"What? Of course he- ohh, we were just friends. I'd never do anything to hurt James."

"Until now." Harry relied sullenly.

Dawn felt a bit annoyed; it had been ten years and an entirely different lifetime ago, how long were you supposed to wait? But Harry didn't understand that, he couldn't understand it. "Harry, please...James, your father, he can't come back. He's gone."

Harry's eyes shone. "Just leave me alone!"

"Harry-"

"Get out! Get out!"

Dawn backed out of the room. Now she knew how Buffy felt when they argued.

Harry watched her go angrily. How could she cheat on his dad like that?

Ron and the rest of his dorm mates entered the room cautiously.

"Is everything okay?" Ron asked concerned.

"What was that about?" Semus and Dean asked confused.

"Do you mind if we go to bed, now? Everyone else has, but we thought we should wait…"

"Go ahead." Harry also went to bed, ignoring the questions of his friends and soon falling asleep.

Two feet from his bed, the occupant of a painting and her friend sat wide eyed having heard everything. Could it really be true? Was Lily Potter really still alive?

"Did you hear that?" Penelope Periwinkle whispered to the person visiting her portrait.

"I couldn't have really missed it." Salazar responded dryly.

"Honestly Slytherin, why do you even bother coming here if all you hate it so much?"

Salazar rolled his eyes. "I enjoy your company." He lied, but the bimbo was conceited enough to believe it. It couldn't exactly tell her that it was his sworn duty to keep an eye on the Potter boy and then report back to Malfoy's spawn who could then pass the message onto the Dark Lord via his father.

"Oh Slythie- that's so sweet…Hey where are you going?"

"I have to return to my own portrait, Penelope; I need to speak to someone." Slytherin said smoothly.

"Fine! Just leave." And he did.

Now, Penelope was a bit of a gossip so it was in her nature to visit her neighbouring portrait to tell them what she had heard, and then to the next one and to the next one and to the next…

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Dawn headed back to her room. She should never have kissed Sirius, especially with Harry liable to pop in at any moment. She just hoped that he could forgive her. When she returned to her suite, Sirius was waiting for her.

"I think I should go." He said.

"Don't be stupid, go where?"

"I never wanted to screw things up between you and Harry, I'm so sorry."

"It was hardly all your fault. You can't go; you've got nowhere to go. Besides it's me he's mad at, not you. He doesn't even know who you are."

"You didn't tell him?" He asked hurt.

"Not the point right now, Padfoot."

"Right. What are you going to do?"

Dawn shrugged helplessly. "Hope he comes round in the end, I guess."

Meanwhile, the new was being spread from painting to painting. At first not everyone believed it, but the gossip was coming from all over the castle! Several portraits near the library had heard Harry Potter and his friends talking earlier that day as well as other portraits dotted about over the school who had heard Harry, Ron, Hermione or Dawn talking.

The next day, Draco Malfoy heard about it from the portrait of Salazar Slytherin that hung next to his bed.

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"I suppose it makes sense really." Someone whispered at the breakfast table.

"And how's that? It seems like a load of rubbish to me."

"Total hippogriff crap." Another student agreed.

"Well, look at the way she came running after him through the common room last night."

"He probably just hadn't done his homework." The second student scoffed.

"I don't know- all the paintings are talking about it. Oh Merlin; there he is!" She said the last bit a little louder, so several students turned to look around at the trio that had just entered the hall.

Harry looked around suspiciously at all the stares he was getting. It was quite possible that he was the only person in the hall who didn't know what they were talking about.

Draco Malfoy stood up from the Slytherin table and stalked over, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. "So, Potter is it true?"

"Is what true, Malfoy?" Harry asked coldly.

"Oh Merlin; he doesn't know!" Draco started laughing, followed by his two gorillas. "So Potty, will you be keeping Potter or changing to Summers?"

"W-What?" Harry stumbled backwards.

"Come on Potter; is it true- yes or no? It's not hard, although I can see why you might find it hard. Personally, I hope they left her in the ground where she belongs. There're enough mudbloods clogging up the-"

Whack!

Draco Malfoy was cut off by Hermione Granger of all people punching him in the face. The attention shifted from Harry onto Hermione. Fred and George stood up and started a slow clap and soon everyone but the Slytherin's were joining in.

"I fink oo 'oke ma bose!" Malfoy whined as his goons escorted him out and to the hospital wing.

Hermione turned to a shocked Ron and Harry. "That felt good." She admitted.

Harry took another step backwards before running out of the hall. Hermione and Ron started after him, but as they were running the staircases switched making it impossible for them to follow their friend.

"Dammit!" Hermione swore, much to Ron's surprise.

"He'll be fine Hermione, let's go back to the hall. I for one want to know how Malfoy found out about it. I can't believe you hit him!"

Hermione blushed red. "I know, neither can I. I should probably apologise…"

"No way!" Ron protested. "It was Bloody Brilliant!"

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Lucius Malfoy rolled his eyes at his only son's letter. Honestly, the gossip that went round that school. He opened the concealed door in his mansion and slid through into the official death eaters' headquarters.

He was surprised and slightly repulsed to see the 'face' of his master standing in front of him. Quirrell/ Voldemort walked towards Malfoy.

"What is that?" He hissed.

"My Lord, it is nothing but a letter from my son. He's at Hogwarts, learning how to use his magic so that he may join you some day." Malfoy bowed his head respectfully.

"Ahh, Hogwarts. What news is there from Hogwarts?" Voldemort sneered.

"Mostly nonsense, My Lord; I believe the portrait of Salazar is jesting with him. He claims that Lily Potter is alive, sort of reincarnated the way he tells it."

"What?"

"S-Some of the p-portraits overheard a c-conversation between P-Potter and P-Professor Summers. She was c-claiming to be his mother; she s-somehow came back to life." Quirrell spoke up.

Voldemort frowned and growled. "This can't be true. But I must be sure. Tonight we shall go to the Potter's grave. Then we shall know for sure."

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Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, the Scoobies had heard what the rest of the school was talking about: Professor Summers was actually Lily Potter.

Dawn had yet to leave her suite and Harry had vanished. Buffy and Xander walked round the outside of the castle. They had heard enough of the rumours and gossip, so were taking the long route to Dawn's rooms. It had been decided that someone should warn Dawn that everyone knew about her 'family issues'.

As they walked in silence, Buffy saw a lone figure sitting by the lake.

"Hey, Xand; can you go and see Dawn? I'll catch up, there's just something I want to do first."

"Sure." Xander went on ahead leaving Buffy to have her first conversation with her nephew.

"There are a lot of worried people up there looking for you."

Harry turned at the sound of the voice. "So?"

"Well as much as I hate to ruin your pity party, one of them happens to be my sister."

"Yeah right; I bet she hasn't realised I've gone." Harry grumbled.

"Well, no, not yet. But when she finds out, she'll be worried." Buffy assured him. "So what's the problem?"

"Ask _her_."

"She's not here, you are."

Harry squinted across at Buffy. "You're Buffy right? Dawn told me about you."

"Really? What did she say?"

Harry shrugged. "You're the slayer. You died to save her. You can be the most irritating thing on the surface of the planet but she still loves you."

"I am so not irritating." Buffy huffed. "She told me about you too."

"Did she tell you about her new boyfriend?" Harry said spitefully.

"No. She left that out." Buffy mentally cursed her sister. "Is that why you're upset?"

"I'm not upset. I just want to be on my own." Harry hinted heavily.

Buffy refused to be put off. "Don't you like the guy or something?"

Harry sighed- annoying blond American. He pulled a face. "I've never met him; I've just seen them."

"You saw them?" Buffy was preparing the numerous ways to breaking this guy's legs.

"They were kissing." Harry said disgustedly.

Buffy whistled. So that was it. The kid saw Dawn and her new honey making out or something and freaked out. Well, it was probably like the time she found her mum and Giles when they were turned into teenagers and that still made her shudder.

"Well that was unlucky-"

"Unlucky? I can't believe she'd do that to my dad!"

"I thought your dad was dead." Buffy said tactlessly. "Sorry, but he's been gone for ten years do you expect her to wait around forever?"

Buffy got up leaving Harry with his thoughts. She and Dawn needed to have a serious talk.

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Sirius had nearly jumped out of his skin when he came out the bathroom, hair dripping wet with only a towel draped round his waist, to see Dawn sitting on her bed with some one eyed stranger.

When Xander saw the half naked guy come out of Dawn's bathroom he was surprised. Dawn hadn't mentioned a new boyfriend. He trained his good eye on Sirius and glared. He wasn't in the best mood having got lost on the way to Dawn's room and then had to get directions from a little kid.

Dawn cleared her throat. "Err Xander this is Sirius, Sirius meet Xander."

There was another knock at the portrait and Buffy was let in. She glared at Sirius the moment she came in.

Dawn shuffled nervously. "Padfoot, I believe I mentioned Buffy."

Sirius smiled nervously, but still found one-and-a-half glares trained on him.

"What kind of a name is Padfoot?" Buffy demanded.

Sirius bit his tongue to prevent the automatic response based on the slayers own name.

"It's his nickname. His real name's Sirius." Dawn explained.

"Okay, so what is it?"

Dawn looked puzzled before she figured it out. "No, that's his name- Sirius. As in S I R I U S."

"Oh."

Sirius shifted uncomfortably. "I'm gonna go get changed."

"Please do." Dawn said, thankful for some of the tension to literally be leaving the room.

"Who was that?" Xander and Buffy asked in unison.

"He's an old friend."

"And?"

"You can't get mad. Well, he was kind of imprisoned for my murder, but he didn't do it." Dawn said quickly.

"What!" Buffy spluttered, prepared to pull out her sword at any point.

"He was framed, I remember it. But he's got to hide here until we can get the evidence together to prove him innocent. Please don't slay him." Dawn begged.

"I won't, for now. Wait- he's the guy from the paper, the one who seemingly vanished from the top security prison and must have had some kind of outside help. Dawn tell me you didn't, _please_ tell me you didn't."

"Okay, I didn't….but I kinda did."

"And what will those police guys say when they realise you helped a prisoner escape!"

Dawn waved her hand, not worried and smirked. "They can't prove that."

"Err I hate to break it to you Dawnie, but the proofs standing in your bathroom."

"Oh shit…I'll worry about that later."

"Dawn…ugh, don't even bother. Was that the guy Harry saw you kissing?"

"What!" Now it was Xander's turn to splutter.

Dawn turned beetroot and looked down to the floor.

"Dawn! He's just a kid! How could you let him see that?"

"I didn't let him see it. It wasn't even meant to happen." Dawn protested.

"Did you want it to happen?"

"It can't."

"That's a yes if ever I heard one."

"Buffy- he was James' best friend and he's Harry's Godfather. It can't happen. We were talking and he just reminded me so much of James…" Dawn said in a low voice so that Sirius wouldn't overhear.

"Like that matters." Buffy hissed as a reply. "Why are you always so stupid?"

"I'm stupid? The slayer who's rather fond of necrophilia is calling me stupid?"

Buffy blushed. "And I suppose that guy you snuck out with that Halloween was totally with the pulse-having!"

"That was years ago! And at least he didn't try to end the world! But then, you like that in a guy don't you Buffy- first Angel, then Spike and who am I forgetting… oh I remember, the Immortal. Oh yeah- I'm definitely the one who's made the bad relationship choices!"

"Spike didn't try to end the world!"

"Err are we forgetting the Judge? Or Adam? Or the parents evening thing?"

"That was before we were together."

"Oh that's alright then- as long as he only tried to end civilisation _before_ you boinked the night away-"

"What! We did not-"

"Oh you did and you know it!"

Xander, who had been watching the sisters fight, decided to speak up. "Girls! We all agree that you've both made some…bad relationship choices in the past, but-"

"We've made some bad choices?" Buffy snorted.

"Three words: Inca mummy girl." Dawn continued.

"Three more words: Preying mantis woman."

"Oh yeah? Well what about you two and that guy in the jacket?" Xander retaliated.

"At least he was human!"

Xander decided to shut up. He could never win a fight against the Summers girls.

"Besides, that wasn't our fault. There was a spell. We were bewitched!"

"Well actually Dawn, you were bewitched and the rest of us were just trying to help." Buffy said.

"Excuse you?"

"You have to admit that it was your fault that the rest of us got involved with that one."

"In that case, the Angelus fiasco was all your fault."

"No chance- Angel lost his soul and became a totally different person."

"Oh so it doesn't count if you screw a guy into all of his evil goodness? I'll make a note of that."

"Err ladies?" Xander interrupted seeing that Buffy was about to get really wound up. "I think you've forgotten the reason we came here." Buffy looked at him blankly. "We were going to tell Dawn about you know what?"

"Oh that, Dawn- everyone knows about you and Harry."

"What!" Dawn shrieked.

Xander winced. "Break it to her gently, just like you wanted, right Buff?"

Buffy shrugged. "She had to know, no point in dragging it on."

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Harry hadn't moved since Buffy left him. She'd actually given him something to think about. It had been ten years after all…

"Heya mate, we've been looking all over for you." Ron said nervously.

"Yeah. Are you alright?" Hermione asked gently.

"I'm bloody marvellous. What's everyone saying?"

Ron sat down beside his friend. "Most of them don't believe it."

"Is that good or bad?" Harry wondered.

"What's wrong? Something happened when you went to see Professor Summers last night, didn't it?" Hermione pressed.

Harry nodded shortly. "I went into her room and she was there."

"And..?"

"She was kissing some guy."

"Eww! You saw your mother snogging? Eww!" Ron exclaimed.

"Ron! Who was it, Harry?"

"Does it matter?"

Hermione sat down on the freezing ground. "I guess not. Why are you upset?"

"Cause she was kiss-"

"I know, but why did it upset you?" Hermione asked.

Harry paused. "How could she do that to my Dad?"

Hermione smiled gently. "You Dad's dead, Harry. He's not coming back."

"So was she and she came back." He argued, letting his friends know what he had been hoping for the last few days- for all his family to come back to him and for them to have a fairytale-style happy ending.

"And what are the odds of it happening again? Zero." She reasoned. "Do you expect her to wait forever, just in case?"

"No…" He admitted.

"So what's the problem?"

Ron watched amazed as Hermione proceeded to sort out Harry's problems. He could never do that.

Harry laughed hollowly. "I have no idea _what_ the problem is. I just know there is one. Isn't that enough for you?" He stormed off leaving Ron and Hermione behind him.

"Harry-" Hermione made as if to go after him, but Ron stopped her.

"Leave him, he's gonna want to be on his own."

"I guess so. I just wish I could have helped."

Ron shrugged. "Maybe you did. Come on; Snape will slaughter us if we're late."

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Dawn lay back on her bed staring up at the ceiling. Buffy and Xander had left and been replaced by Willow who had been replaced by Giles. She was determined not to leave her room, but they kept trying to entice her out.

Giles stopped his lecture when he realized Dawn was paying absolutely no attention to him. "What do you want me to say Dawn?"

Dawn turned to him. "I want you to tell me that life gets easy."

Giles raised one eyebrow. "You want me to lie to you?"

"Just this once?"

Giles thought back to what he had told Buffy twelve years ago when she had asked him the same question. "Yes, life gets terribly simple.The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after."

"Liar." Dawn muttered just like her sister had all those years before. "Besides it's not the bad guys I'm worried about. I screwed up, Giles. I've only been doing the parent thing for two seconds and already he hates me."

Giles joined his 'daughter' on the bed. "Maybe you did. But there's nothing that can't be fixed, you should know that, he'll forgive you, I promise."

"Thanks Giles." Dawn said giving him a hug, instantly forgetting everything that had happened between them in the recent weeks.

Giles smiled, glad to have been forgiven. "Anytime. Now are you going to join us in the hall?"

"Not tonight. I want to be alone, besides I'm exhausted."

"Okay, you get some rest." Giles kissed the top of her head and made to leave the room. "Sweet dreams."

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That night, a small group of death eaters stood huddled around the grave of Lily Potter. They all watched as Lucius Malfoy fast forwarded the time replay from when she had been buried.

"Stop." Voldemort hissed not long after they had started.

Lucius did as he was told and played the scene. It came from the first night after the burial service.

_There were three muggles in brown robes gathered around the still fresh soil. There was an urn at the feet of one and several candles scattered about. They appeared to be waiting for something and after a couple of minutes it was clear what it was. There was a scratching sound that got louder and louder until a hand reached out of the dirt. The monks watched as the hand wriggled about, more and more being exposed until a bewildered young woman stood there gasping for breath. Her hands brushed the red hair out of her face and terrified green eyes darted around. One of the monks raised a muggle tranquiliser gun and shot the frightened woman. She let out a small scream before falling forward into another monk's arms. The third monk looked down at her. "Let's go; the ritual will be any day now."_

Lucius Malfoy closed the scene as the monks left the graveyard and turned to his furious master.

Voldemort was fuming. But within twenty seconds he calmed himself down so he wore his usual sneering face. "Next time, she's not coming back."

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Miles away, Dawn Summers woke up screaming.

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Next Chapter: It all comes to a head. We're in the home stretch now, sprinting towards the finish line.

Please Review!


	14. Here We Go Again

**Thank You Reviewers:**

**Mae:** High praise indeed! Thanks for the great feedback- hope you like the chaper.

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**A/N:** THE WORDS ARE THE SAME, BUT THE SPELL IS DIFFERENT! I won't tell you where, but you'll know when you get there!

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: HERE WE GO AGAIN…**

"Lil- Dawn! Dawn, snap out of it!" Sirius took hold of his room mate and shook her.

She stopped screaming, but the fear was still in her eyes. "Sirius?"

"It's me, its okay."

"Buffy?"

"You want your sister?" Dawn nodded slowly. "I'll get her, I'll be one minute. Don't move."

And he was off. He forgot that he was a wanted criminal and speed through the thankfully empty corridors of Hogwarts until he reached Buffy's door.

He whacked on the portrait loudly, hearing groaning from behind the door.

"Wha?" Buffy moaned sleepily.

"It's Lil- It's Dawn."

It had the effect of emptying a bucket of ice water over her. "Is she okay?"

"No."

Buffy ran towards Dawn's room, still dressed in her pink bunny pyjamas, which made Sirius smile. When Sirius returned to the portrait, a few minutes after Buffy, he found her hopping about outside.

"What's wrong?"

"Damn portrait won't let me in." She grumbled.

Sirius smirked. "Poodle."

"I am not a poodle- oh. Poodle's the password? That's so lame." Buffy said as she clambered in and went to Dawn's side. "What's wrong?"

"She…I…she was resurrected…I remember." Dawn stuttered.

"We already knew that, sweetie."

"I remember it…there were the monks and they watched as she…woke up in the coffin…I dug out of her grave." Dawn whispered. "They took her somewhere, and then I was with you."

Buffy growled. Speaking from experience, she knew it was not pleasant to wake up in a coffin and then have to dig yourself out of your own grave. Not pleasant at all. Especially if you were formally in heaven. "Dawnie, I need you to tell me…was she in heaven…do you remember?"

Dawn nodded.

"I'm so sorry, but it gets easier, I promise." Buffy hugged her sister and didn't let go until she'd sobbed herself back to sleep.

When she was sure Dawn was asleep, she put her back into her bed and walked over to where a very confused Sirius was standing. "Poor kid."

"She's not a kid." Sirius said absently.

"Yes, she is. She's only been alive for ten years in this life and sometimes it catches up on her. Or that's what Giles said. Sometimes she's twenty four, sometimes she's ten and I guess sometimes she's nineteen. There are all these different personalities in there and it's hard to keep track. Sometimes she loses herself." Buffy revealed sadly, her eyes not leaving her sisters sleeping form.

Sirius nodded. "That makes sense I guess. There had to be some repercussions to what _they_ did to her. So what was all that about?"

Buffy eyed him carefully. Could she trust him? "Dawn remembers when they resurrected Lily. All of it."

"Okay- and that's bad, right?"

"Very bad. This Lily, she was in heaven, totally at peace and then she was ripped out. Dawn woke up in her coffin and then had to dig her way out while the monks watched her."

"Shit." Sirius swore.

"Exactly; I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Trust me when I say it's gonna screw with her head for a long time."

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"Dawnie! Let me in." The voice echoed throughout her sub conscious.

"Tara?" Dawn got off the bed she was lying on. She went to the door and opened it to reveal Tara standing in the hallway of her home in Sunnydale.

They both entered her old room and sat on the bed.

"Dawnie, you have to stop it."

"I'm too tired." Dawn said wearily. "Stop what?"

"You have to get it out your system. I know that it's difficult, but they need you."

"It's not that simple. I feel it, Tara; I feel everything about heaven and then coming back."

"I know you do; and it's hard to carry on, but Harry needs you." It was a dirty trick and dream-Tara knew it, but she had to get through to Dawn. Dawn was more like Buffy than she'd ever admit and when Buffy had been going through the same situation, protecting the people she loved had been all that mattered.

Dawn reacted as expected- worried and protective. "What's going to happen to Harry?"

Tara put a hand to Dawn's forehead and images flashed before her eyes. There was so much blood, so much pain- more than she had ever felt in her life.

Dawn turned to Tara with a horrified look. "Is that what's going to happen?"

Tara smiled. "Only if you can't stop it. The PTB owe you a favour Dawnie, well, your sister technically, but she isn't sleeping so well tonight. But you have to sort this, understand me?"

"I think so. I have to tell them?"

Tara nodded.

Dawn sighed. "That isn't going to be easy."

"I know. But you'll do it."

Dawn sighed. "So why is it always you? You're always the one to come into my dreams and tell me things, why you?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm your link to the powers. You'll see me again soon, I know that much. I still need to tell you something, but you're not ready to hear it yet."

"What is it?" Dawn asked, paying no attention to the fact that Tara just told her that she wasn't ready to hear it.

"I can't tell you yet, besides you have to go back now."

"Not yet, just a little longer."

"No Dawnie." Tara said firmly, but with a smile still on her face. "You've seen who you are and what's to come but you've barely even begun."

Dawn awoke back in her own bed at Hogwarts. "That line never gets old." She muttered to no one in particular.

A sudden wave of nausea overtook her body and she dashed to the bathroom and threw the contents of her stomach down the toilet.

Is this what Tara had meant by 'getting it out of her system'? The powers had one sick sense of humour… no pun intended.

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"You don't understand!" Dawn shouted at the headmaster.

"You know what, I believe you're right: I don't understand!" Dumbledore said, sounding both surprised and a little excited by the prospect- it hadn't happened in so long so it was rather a refreshing change.

"We've got twenty-four hours, tomorrow afternoon Voldemort is coming here; what part of that don't you get, you stupid, stupid old man?"

Dumbledore paused, not offended in the slightest. "There are some people downstairs who I believe should be part of this discussion. Shall we wait for them to arrive?"

Two minutes later there were several confused people and a dog talking/ barking in Dumbledore's office. The list went as follows: Dumbledore and Dawn; Buffy, Xander, Willow, Faith, Giles and Andrew; and Snape, Hagrid and McGonagall.

"Quiet!" Dumbledore said, not particularly loudly but it had its desired effect. "Now Dawn has something to tell us, and Sirius, please turn into your human form."

He did so much to Xander and Andrew's delight and Snape's irritation.

"You!"

"This is not the time for this, Severus." Dumbledore said sternly as the two men glared at each other.

"I had a dream." Dawn started. "Basically, we have twenty-four hours to prepare for some kind of strike from Voldemort...here"

The noise broke out at once. They weren't equipped to deal with a strike from Voldemort; this was a school for crissakes! Voldemort wasn't even supposed to be rising to power this quickly- Dumbledore had said it would be May at the earliest, not early December!

"Quiet!" Dawn shouted, much louder than Dumbledore had but with the same effects.

"This is nonsense!" Snape said the minute silence came. "You want to believe the Dark Lord is coming here by a girl's dreams?"

"Dawn's dreams are very accurate and nobody asked you, draculike." Buffy retorted immediately.

"Calm down Buffy," Willow soothed, "he does have a point."

"What? Willow-"

"Just listen a sec; you were always the one that got the dreams not Dawn, one dream doesn't make a seer." The white witch reasoned.

"Tara was there."

"What?"

"Tara; she was the one who told me about the fight." Dawn revealed. "She came to me and showed me what could happen if we didn't prepare."

Willow nodded; that fact that Tara had been the one to warn them settled it for her. "We can trust this vision." She said simply.

"Great, any more questions? No? Then what's say we prepare for this apocalypse then?" Faith said jauntily.

Snape bit back a comment and nodded curtly. Truth was, he'd suspected something big was going down soon but he had been unable to find out what it was. Something like this sounded like something the Dark Lord would do.

"He knows about me." Dawn said quietly.

"What? How?" Buffy tightened her grip on the chair arm causing a thin crack to split up the mahogany.

Dawn spread her arms helplessly. "I don't know, I just know he knows."

"Then he must be stopped, right B?" Faith said simply, but anyone could hear the steely resolve in her voice.

"Right, we have to be ready, Professor Dumbledore." Buffy said grimly.

"You called him Dumbledore!" Dawn said surprised.

"Oh right, sorry; Professor Crumblecore." Buffy uselessly tried to correct.

Dawn rolled her eyes. Buffy had definitely taken too many hits to the head. "Why do I even bother?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well you have to admit that-"

"What do you propose?" McGonagall said, sensibly ignoring the bickering sisters.

"We need to get your order thing here now!" Dawn injected.

"And the slayers." Buffy added.

"Are you sure you want to bring them into this?" Giles said with caution.

"Definitely; it's their next big bad and without backup we don't have a chance." Buffy said after sharing a look with Faith who nodded her head in agreement.

"We still won't stand a chance." Snape muttered.

Faith elbowed him, not hard for her, but enough to make him stumble. "Hey, less of the negative energy."

"We do stand a chance," Buffy insisted, clearly on the verge of one of her speeches (much to Dawn's dismay). "We always have a chance. Faith and I took an army of thirty or so girls into hell to fight the original evil."

"Madness." Snape commented. "To beat the army of the First with thirty muggles is impossible."

"I'm glad no-one told me that before we did it!" Buffy grinned.

"Oh I did." Giles said. "You listened very politely and went ahead and did it anyway, proving that it was, in fact, not impossible."

"Whatever. But point is we've got a baddie to squish."

"Can't you see?" McGonagall said flustered. "We're not ready and we only have one day! The wizarding world is doomed!"

Xander laughed. "Hey! She sounds like Giles!"

"Must be a British thing."

"I can't help but fell we may have gotten a little off topic." Dumbledore interrupted. "We have just twenty-four hours to prepare ourselves as best possible. We must notify the parents immediately, the students have to be evacuated."

"Wait a sec, some of those parents are death eaters; we can't let them know we know." Dawn said.

Dumbledore smirked secretively. "I dare say that I can 'forget' to inform those parents and take those particular children to another safe haven. Professor Snape; you should perhaps be the best one to help those students?"

"Yes sir." Snape agreed. Due to contrary belief, there were fewer than thirty students in his house that were related to death eaters and it would be easy to put them somewhere safe.

"I will start the emergency contact floo the moment we are finished here and advise parents to collect the children either tonight or tomorrow morning leaving us time to prepare for the fight in the afternoon. I will also contact the Order of the Phoenix and a few select aurors who, although not members, have shown their dedication to the cause repeatedly. I need not remind you of the severity of the situation, but we must insure that there is no panic amongst the pupils. Now I suggest we prepare ourselves, because my friends, war is truly upon us."

As she and her friends left the room, Buffy sighed. "Here we go again."

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"Are you sure you want to tell him, Dawnie?" Buffy asked.

"I'm sure."

"It's not a good idea."

"Oh? And what is a good idea? Not tell him the truth for months and then let him sneak out and find out all alone?" Dawn said harshly.

Buffy inwardly winced. "No, but Dawn, he's just a kid."

"It's not like-" Dawn broke off as Quirrell walked towards them.

Quirrell briefly nodded his head in acknowledgement to the deputy head mistress. As he walked past the suddenly silent trio, he knocked into Buffy.

"Geez, walk much?" She muttered as he continued without an apology.

Quirrel smirked out of sight. There was a muggle needle in his hand, filled with a red substance. He had what he needed.

Dawn continued with their previous conversation. "It's not like I'm going to let him fight, I'm sending him away somewhere, but I want him to know the truth."

"You'll try to send him away, but if he's anything like you he won't stay away for long even if it's for his own good."

"That was different. I was five years older than he was and, no matter what you thought, I could take care of myself and I still can." How many times had they had this argument in some shape or form?

McGonagall looked at the sisters. "Why do I get the impression that this isn't just about Harry?"

Dawn glared at Buffy, so the older Summers girl answered. "I tried to keep Dawn safe from the fight with the First by sending her away, but she came back. "

"Of course I came back, what would I have to live for if you all died? My family and friends were fighting so why wouldn't I? And that goes for double this time!"

"Dawn, I just think it would be best if you went somewhere safe-"

"No, Buffy. I'm twenty-four years old; I've been looking after myself without you even in the same continent for the last two years so I think I can manage one more day!"

Buffy held her sisters glare for a long time. "Fine. But if you get killed I'm telling."

Dawn nodded. "Thank you. But I think you're the one we need to worry about there, little miss 'died three times'. Honestly Buff, you'd think drowning once would be enough, but no…"

"I only drowned twice, and they so weren't my fault! I mean, hello, fighting vampires!"

"Fine, I'll give you the Master 'cause you were new and he was way old, but come on Buffy, the other one was only a fledgling and you'd been a slayer for ten years!"

"I tripped!" Buffy said defensively.

"Into a pool of ice cold water and nearly gave poor Xander a heart attack!"

McGonagall watched as they went from being mad at each other to bickering playfully. "We're nearly at Harry's class now." She interrupted.

"I'll go then. See ya Dawnie." Buffy about turned, her heels clicking on the stone floor as she walked off.

Professor McGonagall knocked on one of the large wooden doors. "May I borrow Mr. Potter, Serena?"

"Of course." She seemed quite surprised to see the deputy headmistress in her classroom, but offered no objection knowing that Harry would most likely get the lesson notes off Hermione.

Harry exited his class, his surprise turning into a scowl when he saw the other person waiting outside. "What does _she_ want?"

"Harry!" McGonagall warned, sending a sharp look to Dawn; what had gone on between those two? "Professor Summers has something of great importance to tell you, and you have to listen to her."

Harry looked to Dawn suspiciously. "Fine."

"You can use my office." McGonagall offered; leading them to the room in silence and then leaving the duo.

Harry sat opposite Dawn glaring at her.

"Harry, I'm sorry I upset you, but right now there are more important things at stake than you and me." Dawn began firmly. "You know Voldemort's gaining power, well he's about to begin his first attack."

"So?" Harry said sullenly.

"It's at Hogwarts. I don't know how, but he found out about me and he isn't happy. There are two people in the room right now and he wants his revenge on both of them." Dawn stated. She'd planned on easing into it, but didn't really see the point when she got started, especially when he was being so uncooperative.

She watched the emotions on the young boys face change from shock to fear. "The reason I'm telling you this is because, well the thing is there's a prophecy. I don't really know what he wants, but I think Dumbledore wants us to activate the Trojka."

"The what?"

Dawn groaned. "I'm not doing this right. Okay, the Trojka is three people who together can form a really powerful team. You with me so far? Good. Well part of the prophecy says the first is chosen, the second is fate and the third is the link. The first is Buffy, my sister and the third is me."

Harry felt a pit of dread in his stomach. "Who's the second one?"

Dawn looked down. "It's you. But I'm not going to let this happen, I promise."

"How can you stop it?"

"Tomorrow morning you're leaving. I don't know where, but somewhere safe. I'll find somewhere."

"What about you? Are you coming with me?"

Dawn got up and knelt down beside Harry's chair. "I'll be okay."

Harry looked into Dawn's eyes fearfully. "No, you can't stay here, please don't."

"I have to. I'll be fine; trust me. I've faced bigger baddies than Voldemort and I'm still here." Dawn smiled falsely.

Harry grabbed her arm. At that moment she was his mother, he forgot all about the mess with Sirius, he wasn't angry anymore, just scared. "You can't leave me again."

"It's only going to be for a couple of days. Then you'll be back."

"He's already taken you from me once, he'll do it again. Please…"

"Harry, this is what I have to do. All I can do is make sure you're safe-"

"What? Like last time? I don't want to go back to that!" Harry interrupted.

"Harry-"

"No! It'll be worse this time! You can't come back to me and then leave me again, it'll be worse than if you never came back."

She knew how he felt now. After Willow brought Buffy back, there was that demon thing that they created and Willow said that they might have to send Buffy back. She knew how he felt, but there was nothing she could do. "Harry, I promise I won't leave you ever again, I promise."

Harry held her stare for a moment longer before launching himself into her arms. They'd never hugged before, but then there's nothing like a war to make you see what's important. It felt right and Dawn wished that he never had to pull away.

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"_Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!" _A slop as a dirty bone was swallowed by the mixture.

"_Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master!"_ A scream as Wormtail added his sacrifice.

"_Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe!"_ A splash as the blood from the oldest living slayer was poured in by Wormtail, him cradling his bloody stump of a hand inside his robes.

The death Eaters continued to chant as the liquid inside the cauldron turned a blinding white and sent diamond sparks against the velvet sky. The sparks suddenly stopped and the potion stilled.

Quirrell/ Voldemort went forward. The professor lifted a vial of the potion to his lips and drunk it. Nothing happened for a minute, but then white steam began to spray from his body. His screams could barely be heard over the whistling mist.

As suddenly as it had started, it stopped and Quirrell fell forward…dead. But the moment he hit the ground, another body rose from beside him.

Voldemort stood up and looked down. He had his own body back! Everything had gone perfectly to plan!

He felt stronger than he had ever felt before; the Potter's wouldn't stand a chance! Voldemort began to laugh evilly, but he wasn't prepared for the reaction of his loyal-ish followers.

"My Lord, your face!" One of them gasped.

"What about it?" Voldemort asked angrily. He began to move towards the death eater but stopped. When had he developed a lisp?

He raised his hand to his forehead and ran them over the skin there. It was cool, like he remembered. But it was no longer smooth like a snake's skin. It was tough and bumpy…really bumpy. His hands moved down his face. The lumps weren't on his cheeks, but the skin was still tough. He reached his mouth…something definitely wasn't right there, what were those pointy things? They couldn't be fangs…could they?

Okay; so maybe everything hadn't quite gone to plan.

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The remaining students were having their dinner in the great hall. Dumbledore had suggested that parents pick up the children after breakfast the next morning, but most of the parents had wanted their children safe with them as soon as possible. There were little over a hundred children still left, including the Weasley family and Harry as Molly Weasley had offered to come to the school when her husband joined the rest of the order to fight and pick them all up. The Slytherin's with Death Eaters as family had been among the first to leave so that they wouldn't get the chance to mail their parents about the school's knowledge of the attacks.

The now empty Slytherin table (the only two Slytherin's still to be collected were sitting with Ravenclaw) was occupied by the back up which had already arrived. Some of the Order, a few aurors and the slayers from England (Giles had wanted the students from his slaying centre where he could keep an eye on them- twenty seven teenage girls left in a house on their own for longer than necessary didn't sound like a great option to him). The rest of the Order, more aurors and several more slayers from around the world were also joining them over the next few hours.

There was a distinct feeling of 'the condemned man's last meal' among the adults, and to some extent with the students. By Dawn's dream, they had only thirteen hours to prepare for Voldemort's attack and nearly all the slayers had never fought against a wizard before. It could be a disaster, or a success; at this point it could go either way.

"…but if nothing else works we can try this prophecy thing." Buffy finished. She had been trying to explain to Andrew what the plan for the following day's battle would be.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Dawn, who had been listening in, said.

"It's only a last resort. Besides how do you know it's a bad idea if we've never even tried it?" Buffy reasoned.

Dawn snorted in a very unladylike fashion. "I've never danced in the fast lane of the London ring road but I know it's a bad idea. I have a really bad feeling about it, Buffy, and I don't want to put Harry in any danger."

Buffy smiled slightly. "Okay- I get that, but-"

She was interrupted by a crackle and the lights flickering. No-one would usually pay much attention to that, but everyone was on edge so each sound was magnified. Two girls even screamed when a door banged in the distance.

They were laughed at of course, but they had good reason to scream for there were hundreds of figures backed up at the main door- figures in black robes wearing inhuman masks.

The slayers got to their feet, but everything else was still- children to scared to move and adults in a stunned silence. It was too soon! The children were still here and not all their fighting force had arrived.

"Looks like your timing was a little off Dawnie." Buffy said dryly.

Dawn looked around at the masses staring back at her. "It does look that way, doesn't it?"

Andrew looked around nervously and gulped audibly. "They're fond of the dramatic entrance I take it."

Xander leaned into his friends. "We're not ready for this, half the back-up doesn't arrive until later."

"We know that." Buffy said evenly, her eyes still trained on the death eaters around them.

Willow shuffle over to her friends, careful not to draw any attention to them. But she need not have worried as one of the masked death eaters gave the apparent signal and raised his wand to the ceiling. He muttered a charm causing the sky there to turn from the clear night sky to blood red, the stars that were previously bright silver now pure black.

This had the effect of a starter firing a gun at a dog race and all the students milled about frightened. There was a panic and in this state it would be easy for the death eaters to slaughter everyone.

Willow gulped audibly at the chaos that surrounded them. "What are we going to do now?"

She received no answer. Her fellow Scoobies looked around the school hall. This had blood bath written all over it; there was the potential for over a hundred innocent young lives to be wiped out within mere minutes. Willow had raised an excellent point:

What the hell were they going to do?

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Review; you know you want to!

Only two chapters + epilogue to go folks! Thanks for reading!

Kiara

xxx


	15. The Vessel

**Thank You for the Reviews!**

**NixiNox: **You'd think that would be an ideal solution, wouldn't you? He, he, he- then it would be _too_ easy! Thanks for R&R

**Technocratic Sith Lord: **I haven't planned a full length sequel, but I am planning to do a series on minis based in the timeline. I've already done one for next chapter, but who knows, inspiration may strike! Oops- I didn't explain the enemy blood. Bad me. About two thirds down chapter 14, Quirrel bumped into Buffy. He got the blood then, but I forgot to explain it – sorry! Thanks for reviewing and I'll add something to clarify now.

**Sired-by-Spike: **blushes You compliment me on regular updating then I fall off the edge of the planet for three weeks! Next chapter will be coming soon- it's mostly written. I have read HBP and can I just say: WHAT? Never saw it coming in the way that it did in a million years! Thanks for R&R

**Gaul1:** Thanks, byes!

**MaryAnn:** Thanks for Reading and Reviewing!

**Damia:** That seems like a very sensible solution, almost too sensible…Thanks for R&R

**Gabrieldarke:** You'll be glad to know that this chapter doesn't end on a cliffie! Thanks for R&R

**Charmed angel4:** It would be nice if Buffy could just stake him, wouldn't it… I have read HBP- definitely went for the shock factor there! I guessed the death, but never thought it would happen that way, did you? Thanks for R&R.

**A/N:** Sorry about the lateness. I've been on holiday and blah blah blah. Next chapter up VERY soon. Promise! I don't like doing battle scenes. I've only done one or two before and I'm still not confidant with them. So I'm sorry if it sucks.

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE VESSEL**

Willow gulped audibly at the chaos that surrounded them. "What are we going to do now?"

She received no answer. Her fellow Scoobies looked around the school hall. This had blood bath written all over it; there was the potential for over a hundred innocent young lives to be wiped out within mere minutes. Willow had raised an excellent point:

What the hell were they going to do?

Well that was a bit of a stupid question. What do Scoobies do when placed in an impossible situation where they would most likely die or be otherwise injured? They fight of course.

Dawn started running forward taking the dagger that she always kept with her out from around her waist.

As they ran forward, Buffy moved over to Dawn and grabbed her arm. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Precisely what you think I'm doing." Dawn answered evenly. "And now I want to get back to it."

"No Dawn-"

Dawn shook her arm free from her sister. "He's my son."

"Get out of here, Dawn." Buffy tried one last time as they resumed running to the attackers.

"No way- besides they're blocking the exit." Dawn replied.

And that was it. Buffy immediately knocked out two death eaters with her bare hands, as did Faith, and Giles knocked one of the death eaters off his feet. Dawn briefly considered getting her wand out, but then realised that she was, quite frankly, crap with it and went back to the techniques that had kept her alive for the last decade.

Andrew and Xander had learnt to function as a team. Andrew was no fighter, but he was alert and had the advantage of having two eyes to see from so they would protect each other- Andrew protected Xander by warning him and taking out the occasional death eater and Xander protected Andrew in the more conventional way.

Various wizards began firing off spells, some even using two wands and firing two at a time. The only person who wasn't fighting was Snape. When he had gone to help, he'd heard Dumbledore's voice in his head telling him to wait- if they won this, then they couldn't afford to have their mole in Voldemort's camp discovered.

Willow stopped to summon all the students to her. One death eater even ended up Avada Kedavra-ing one of his own team as the intended target started zooming across the room. The young boy's schoolmate wasn't so lucky though and ended up as a small heap towards the middle of the hall: the first sacrifice on the side of good.

When all the children had all flown to her feet, she erected a shield around them.

"What's your name?" Willow asked, picking out what looked to be the oldest student.

"P-Percy Weasley." The student answered.

"You're in charge; make sure no-one steps outside the shield or they'll lose its protection." And she was gone.

Percy called after her uselessly. "B-But-"

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Meanwhile, Dumbledore was trying to 'maximise his assets'. That was not a problem with the wizards; they all had their weapons on them. The slayers from Giles' centre and the Scoobies were weaponless except for a few stakes and daggers individuals carried on them, Willow's powers and Dawn's wand with which she was not particularly gifted, bless her. Within a second, all the slayers and Scoobies were kitted out with their favoured weaponry; whether it be an axe, a sword or a crossbow.

As Faith found herself holding an exact replica of a certain dagger that she thought she'd never see again she was in two minds. The mayor had given her the original and Buffy had stabbed her with it- it had a lot of bad memories. The other half of her was thinking, no, knowing, that those Death Eaters were going to get their asses kicked.

Buffy was also holding a familiar weapon: the scythe. She didn't give it a second thought of how the weapon that was sitting in her room got into her hands; she just started hacking away, as did Xander with his sword.

Andrew was delighted with his weapon; it was a light sabre! The one weapon that he'd seen used millions of times since he was a small boy, he even had a model weapon that he'd used many times. He'd suddenly become a lot more useful and Xander made a mental note to ask Dumbledore for one to take back home for him to use everyday.

Dawn had two weapons: a small crossbow strapped to her side and short sword in her hands. Like her sister, she didn't question the weapons origin and began slicing through the Death Eaters.

The students in Willow's shield watched in amazement as their professor and the visitors to their wizarding school pulled out weapons that most of them had never seen before and actually killing the Death Eaters who didn't know how to deal with this kind of attack.

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The fight had reached a kind of level. There were very little deaths for the moment, as the Death Eaters were on the offensive. This meant that the slayers and Scoobies were keeping their distance and dodging the curses and were unable to attack. The wizards (good) were also on the defensive, but they occasionally managed to stun a death eater.

Willow had her magic, that's what was keeping her alive, but she didn't have a slayers killer instinct. That was what was preventing her from killing the humans; they were evil humans who deserved to be punished true, but still humans and she worried about how Faith in particular would react when she realised that despite the deformed masks, these so called Death Eaters were essentially human.

Dawn was also fighting without the slayer's killer instinct, but she had something just as deadly: the mother's killer instinct. These… monsters had tried to kill Harry; they'd tried to kill her son, so she was very pissed off. In this mood, she'd probably even stand a smidgen of a chance against Buffy, providing that the petite slayer was having an off day of course.

Faith ducked a flash of silvery light. She didn't know what it did, but she was sure the effects wouldn't be good. She managed to deliver a kick to a death eater's abdomen, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to the ground where another slayer from Giles' centre delicately crushed its skull.

That was really the only way the slayers could bring the death eaters numbers down; one slayer to knock them down and another to take them out. Any experienced slayer would pick up on that- the problem was, that there were only two experienced slayers; the rest weren't arriving until the next day. Buffy was trying to convey the message to as many slayers as possible and she seemed to be succeeding.

She waited until a death eater had it's back to her and then she'd swoop in silently kicking or punching him rendering him momentarily helpless so a nearby slayer could 'dispose' of him. Then she'd go back into the shadows to wait for her next victim. The whole operation only took a few seconds and the surrounding death eaters were all preoccupied with their opponents to notice her. The only hitch was that waiting for the right moment to attack could take a while, but her way was almost the only way that was working so she had to keep it up until she'd got the numbers down a bit, even if it was frustrating.

The various wizards were facing the same moral dilemma as Willow. They knew how to perform an unforgivable curse, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it. They were relying on stunning charms to fight their enemies. Charlie and Bill Weasley fought back-to-back, both glad that their parents had yet to arrive. They made a good team, being both brothers and best friends meant that they knew each other's fighting style inside out and they didn't really want the other to die. So they blocked and shot curses and warned the other when to duck.

The one advantage that the side of good had was that ninety percent of Voldemort's followers weren't particularly gifted wizards. This meant that although they were all willing to use an unforgivable curse, a lot of them didn't have the skill or power and all other curses could be blocked in some way or at least recovered from. Even those wizards that were capable of performing such a curse would take a while to 'restock' the energy used enough to perform another.

But one killing curse was enough to kill a slayer as some of the girls were finding out the hard way.

The slayer was a warrior. She wasn't supposed to have friends, which seemed harsh, but that day it would have been better if they hadn't been close. The first slayer to die was Miranda Jones. She'd only been discovered about six months ago; she wasn't prepared to fight in any battle let alone a magical one. Most of the surrounding slayers were more seasoned and carried on fighting, all the more determined to win and get revenge the waste of a life. But not all of them.

The second death was Fiona Morris, another relatively new slayer and Miranda's best friend who was killed as she wept over her friend's lifeless body.

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Dawn had lost her sword. One of the death eaters had cursed her and she'd lifted it to deflect the spell, but the force of it had shattered the blade. The crossbow had taken to long to reload each time, so she was once again relying on her fists. Punch, kick, duck, kick, punch, punch. Which was all well and good, until someone tried to attack her from behind.

Snape decided that this was the time to intervene and summoned the Death Eaters wand. When he realised what had happened, the death eater turned and locked eyes with Snape. Surprise registered across his face, he gasped and opened his mouth.

'This is it.' Snape thought. 'My cover's blown and now they'll kill me.'

But no noise came. A stream of blood was seeping out through the mask. A second later, the death eater fell forward, a crossbow bolt sticking out the back of his head, and revealed Dawn standing behind him, her crossbow still raised.

She nodded at the professor and smiled slightly before launching back, knocking a death eater unconscious with the back of the bow and cracking another's jaw.

She continued like that until she was hit with a curse she didn't recognise and skidded across the floor, winded.

Harry watched as his mother was knocked to the floor. 'Get up, Dawn, get up!' He pleaded mentally. She appeared to have had the wind knocked out of her and was having trouble getting up. Harry didn't think, he just reacted and started running, leaving the shield's protection behind him.

"Harry, come back!" Percy yelled with no effect.

Harry ran across the hall dodging curses as he went. When he was a couple of metres away from her the Death Eater fired.

Harry shouted out. "No!"

Dawn rolled to the side and looked up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you were going to get killed."

"Nuh-huh; Sunnydale survival instinct. Get back to the shield."

Harry hesitated too long and one of the Death Eaters took advantage of this. He raised his wand slowly.

Dawn's heart skipped a beat as she got up and started running forward. The Death Eaters lips began to move. She dove and smashed into Harry. They both went flying to the floor and to safety.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Dawn shouted, paying no attention to the fact that they were lying in the middle of a battle field and allowing her panic to surface.

"I-I-I-"

"Save it." Dawn ordered. "You. Shield. Now. And don't lave it for anything, please. I need you to be safe." There was a note of pleading in her voice. She couldn't bear for him to get hurt, or worse.

She didn't notice the Death Eater bringing up his wand again. But someone else did.

"No-one hurts my friends." Willow growled. Highlights of white started appearing in her hair and her eyes had flecks of silver. _"Conicio tergum!" _She said it quietly, but there was no mistaking the raw power in her voice. The Death Eater soaring backwards and crashing through solid stone walls also did nothing to mask her power.

Harry watched the white witch with wide eyes. "Wow! She's scary when she's angry!"

Dawn laughed. "Willow's not angry! She's just a little pissed off; she gets _really_ powerful when she's angry; her hair can go completely white! But don't think you're off the hook yet mister!"

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Harry was back in the shield, and he wasn't happy about it.

"You could have got yourself killed!" Percy lectured. "Why did you go anyway? She's only…" The prefect's eyes went wide. "It's true what they were saying isn't it; she really is Lily Potter."

Harry gave a tiny nod.

"But that's impossible! She died!"

Ron shoved his brother away angrily. "She came back, now bugger off."

Ron sat down next to his friend. "Sorry about him. But I guess every family's got to have at least one total pillock…"

Harry smiled slightly. "What if she gets herself killed Ron; I couldn't cope with that, not after…"

"After having her back again?" Ron said with surprising insight. "But how will you getting killed help? Just now, when you went out there you almost got both of you killed. Is that what you want?" He scolded gently.

Harry shook his head. "No, of course not."

"Then stay here. I bet she just wants you to be safe."

"That's what she said." Harry half agreed. "When did you get so smart?"

Ron grinned. "Maybe Hermione's starting to rub off on me. Merlin, imagine the horror!"

"I daresay there could be worse things, Mr. Weasley."

"Professor Dumbledore! Shouldn't you be-"

"Out there?" Dumbledore finished, wincing as he saw another slayer fall to the ground. "Yes well, I believe we need to reconsider our tactics. Mr. Potter, a word if you please."

He took Harry over to the far corner of the shield.

"You want to do that prophecy thing, don't you?" He stated.

"I believe so, yes."

In the middle of the fight, Dawn saw Dumbledore take Harry aside. She watched, trying to guess what he was saying.

A death eater took advantage of her distraction, summoning her crossbow to him.

"Hey!" Dawn protested, yanked out of her dreaming.

The death eater tossed her weapon away, too far out of her reach for her to fetch.

Dawn panicked. She was totally weaponless. Well, not totally, she still had her wand but she couldn't use that to save her life, which ironically it could do. An idea struck her suddenly and she pulled out her wand, hoping that it would work for her. "You're making me do something I really didn't want to have to resort to…_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

It had the same effect as on the feather and the death eater rose up and zoomed backwards. He smashed into a wall causing a crack to run up the stone. Inspired by this success, she Wingardium-ed several other death eaters into various objects around the hall until she was forcefully summoned over to the shield.

She realised that Buffy, Harry and Dumbledore were standing next to where she had been dropped and she immediately knew what the headmaster was planning. "Uh-huh. No way."

"Miss Summers-"

"No! I'm not putting him out there."

"Dawnie, calm down." Buffy ordered.

"Calm down? Calm Down!"

"Yes! At least listen to what he's got to say, this could make the difference between us winning and losing. My girls are dying out there…soon there won't be anything left for us to save."

Dawn scowled but offered no protest.

"Thank you. I simply called you here to ask if any of you had any ideas on how the prophecy would work if we were to use it." Dumbledore said.

"I thought you knew." Dawn replied.

"Heavens no! Whatever did I say to give you that idea?"

Dawn thought back. "Well, nothing, but you know everything!"

"I'm flattered Miss Summers, but no-one could know everything."

"Yeah, great, very useful; but there's a great friggin' apocalypse to deal with here, people." Buffy said, hands-on-hips and tapping her toe.

Harry grinned despite the situation. He liked Dawn's sister with her straight forward attitude.

"Quite right. The way I see it is we have a slayer, a wizards and a key/ vessel which somehow work together…but I don't really know how."

An idea began forming in Dawn's head. "Well, what if-"

She was cut off by screaming, more so than what had been going on for the last hour or so.

"What the…" Buffy began as someone or something entered the hall, causing all the death eaters to pull back so they flanked him on either side.

"Voldemort." Dumbledore hissed.

All eyes were on the robed figure that had just entered the hall. No-one moved or attacked, they just watched.

"Oh my God." Buffy whispered.

"What?"

"He's a vampire."

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Someone always had to make the first move. They couldn't just stand there forever. Faith had been the one to take the plunge and now she was unconscious at the side of the hall. The slayers who had replaced her attacking Voldemort weren't as lucky. Now they were empty shells lying on the floor, their souls hopefully in some other place, a better place.

"I've got to help!" Buffy started forward.

Dawn tried to hold her back. "No Buffy! You'll lose for sure!"

"He appears to be both a wizard and a vampire." Dumbledore mused. "He should have lost the wizarding power when he was turned…"

"So we need a wizard and a slayer to defeat him?" Harry asked.

The idea that had started forming in Dawn's head was now fully formed, but she couldn't tell Harry and Buffy about it yet. "Or maybe a team with both a wizard and a slayer in it?"

Dumbledore thought the idea over and nodded. "Quite possibly."

"Dawn, what's got into you? You were dead set against this a minute ago." Buffy questioned.

"It's our only chance." Something in her gut was telling her that Harry would be alright.

Harry summoned up all his courage. "I think we should do it."

"It's our only chance." Dawn repeated.

Buffy nodded reluctantly. It really was the only option at the moment.

The trio approached where Voldemort was standing. They were nearly standing opposite him, when everything froze. That is, everything except Dawn.

"What?" She said confused.

"You're ready to hear it now." A voice said from behind her.

"Tara? What are you doing here?"

"Telling you what to do, of course. Did you honestly think the powers could afford for you to lose? They've got about six or seven champions in this room!"

Dawn nodded. "I think I know what I have to do."

"You do. But you don't know how yet. You know that you're still the vessel and always will be, but you don't know how to use that to your advantage. Here." Tara waved her arm and two gold rings appeared in front of Dawn.

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "What are these for? Am I going to marry him to death?"

Tara giggled. "No; put one on each hand. The spell will activate when you take Buffy and Harry's hand, but you have to do it at the same time and don't let go until you're glowing really brightly, got it?"

"Got it."

"Good luck, Dawnie."

And she was back.

Voldemort saw them and stepped forward. "Well, aren't we just the happy family. I heard that you were back."

"I've been back for years. You're pretty dumb for a so called evil genius." Dawn refused to let him hear the tremor in her voice.

Buffy knew what she was doing- false bravado to try to show the enemy that they weren't afraid of them; she'd done it herself many a time. And she was going to do it now. "He's not the sharpest stake in the drawer."

"You will pay for your insolence." Voldemort hissed.

"Oooh, check out the bad-arse!" Dawn taunted, just about managing to keep her voice steady.

"Bad-arse? It's badass Dawn, you're American- start talking like it!"

Dawn turned to Buffy, suddenly serious. "Look after him."

"What? Dawn-"

Dawn quickly grasped the other two members of the Trojka's hands. At first nothing happened, but then it all came rushing in at once.

So much power all pouring into her body. She gasped at the burning sensation that filled her, it turned into a scream as the wizarding and slayer magic invaded her body but she didn't let go of their hands.

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Well, I think I'm going to end it there…. Nah, just kidding! He he he, I'm not _that_ mean (well not today anyway!). Let them read on! Or eat cake, whichever works best for you.

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Peter Pettigrew was a coward. He was the first to admit it, but that's why when he saw the girl begin to glow he transformed into his animagi form and exited he hall as fast as he could. Whenever anything began to glow, that was a sure sign that something big was going to happen. And he didn't want to be there when it did.

He got a long way from the hall, but not far enough.

Sirius had been sleeping when the fight had begun, but a weird brunette girl had come in his dreams and told him something was wrong. He'd woken up and remembered that everyone was in the great hall eating. He'd turned into the big black dog and hurried there.

But on the way he'd smelt something familiar- Peter.

He'd pounced on the rat and rolled the creature onto his back with one paw, growling all the time. The rat then turned into a bigger, more human rat that lay between Sirius' front paws, his eyes full of fear.

"Sirius, Padfoot, old friend, have mercy." Pettigrew begged shamelessly.

Dog-Sirius' eyes were filled with hatred. He knew that he wouldn't regret it if he were to kill the snivelling rat.

He lunged forward and ripped at his throat with his sharp teeth. He was dead in an instant.

Sirius turned back into his human form and looked down at his former friend. Why was a death eater here in the school? If there was one, there must be more…

He set off to the great hall at a run.

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"Dawn! Dawn!"

She dimly heard Buffy calling her, but she couldn't do anything about it. She felt her feet lift off the ground an inch or so and opened her eyes which she had squeezed shut. There was a golden haze all around her; she was glowing so brightly that it almost blinded her, so she dropped hands as she rose about a foot into the air.

She was always the vessel; first for the key, and now for the power that would, hopefully, kill Voldemort. Everything seemed to settle briefly, but then a golden beam shot from her chest accompanied by a scream.

Buffy watched as her sister began to glow and levitate. It reminded her of Spike and the amulet. She stepped back, blinded by the light, but was able to keep watching at the golden beam blasted Voldemort square in the chest.

He began to sizzle and smoke. He screamed, much louder than Dawn had, and burst into flames. Was that it? It couldn't be over just like that, could it?

The golden haze vanished in the blink of an eye and Dawn fell to the ground, deathly still and her eyes closed.

The death eaters had began to vanish when Dawn had started glowing. Now they were fleeing the hall in the hope of saving their pathetic lives.

Buffy and the slayers and wizards let them go. Half of them were focused on the pile of ash on the floor while the other half stared at Dawn's body sadly.

The ash was still smoking. It shouldn't be smoking; they never smoked, just 'poofed'. What's more, the smoke was deep blue and it wasn't just rising. It was forming some sort of cloud, a human shaped cloud.

When the cloud was complete it solidified. Voldemort was back, but he didn't stay for long.

When he realised what had happened, he reached into his robe- touching some kind of port key and vanished.

A murmur arose from those watching, but all those who could explain it were focused on something else and hadn't even noticed Voldemort rising from the dead.

Buffy had fallen to her knees as the rest of the Scoobies approached. Harry just stood there staring at Dawn…had she always been that small? He'd never noticed the red flicks in her hair either.

Xander also stared at Dawn, taking in every minute detail. He gasped and ran over. Rolling her onto her back, he touched her neck.

"She's alive!"

Buffy looked up. "What?"

"I can feel a pulse!" Xander exclaimed joyfully.

As if on cue Dawn stirred, opening her eyes. Xander helped her to sit up as Buffy threw her arms around her sister.

"Buff. Need. Air."

Buffy released her sister. "Sorry; I thought you were dead, we all did."

Dawn grinned wearily. "Takes more than a little apocalypse to kill a Summers girl, right?"

Buffy hugged her again, but more gently this time. "Never, ever do that again."

"Wasn't planning on it."

Buffy released Dawn, but she was quickly replaced by Harry. He hugged her for a long moment, but then pulled back embarrassed.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Thank God! What happened to Voldemort?"

"You dusted him." Buffy told her.

Dumbledore stepped forward. "I'm afraid that it wasn't permanent. Whilst we were otherwise occupied, Voldemort seemed to rise. He was weakened almost as much as…before, but he still rose."

Buffy frowned. "I didn't feel a vampire rise."

"To me he felt human." One of the slayers volunteered and several others agreed with her.

"But he didn't look it." Another slayer said. "He looked more like one of those elf things."

Buffy's frown deepened. "But how…Oh no, could it have been the shanshu?"

"But I thought Angel-" Willow started.

"No, just a vampire with a soul; I think Angel thought it was Spike, but I guess he was wrong…"

"Let's not worry about it now. He's weak, right?" Dumbledore nodded. "He won't be able to gather his followers for years; we can worry about it later." Xander suggested.

Buffy nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. I'm exhausted."

"Well I did pull half of your and Harry's energy." Dawn said sheepishly, getting to her feet.

Willow gasped as did several others. "Dawn you've shrunk!"

Dawn looked down at the robe which covered her normal clothes. It was bunched up on the floor and the arms were too long. Not only that but her shoes felt two sizes too big and she was only about an inch taller than Buffy.

"And your hair!" Xander exclaimed.

"What about my hair?" Dawn asked panicked.

"It's got red bits!" Andrew clarified.

"What? How? Why?"

It was at that moment Sirius entered and looked around at the carnage. "What the hell happened?" He whispered. Then he saw Dawn. "Lily?"

"I told you, It's Dawn!" She corrected with an anxious glace to Harry to see how he reacted, but he appeared not to notice.

"You look like her…your height, your hair…"

Dawn threw up her arms in exasperation. "What in Merlin's name is going on?"

"I believe I can explain!" Dumbledore offered. "But first I believe we should see about medical attention. Rest assured, it's nothing dangerous, but it will keep until after everyone is seen to."

Dawn nodded reluctantly and several people made their way to the hospital wing. She looked around the hall. The floor was littered with bodies and blood. She shuddered, but she wasn't ready to deal with that yet.

She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and followed the rest out, leaving the destruction behind them.

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I know, I know; battles are meant to have consequences, but I can't bear to kill anyone off! Unrealistic, maybe; but hey, it's my story!

P.S: I've never heard the full shanshu, so if it specifies a good guy getting prophesized then please assume that it is AU- it just says that the vampire with a soul shall rise again.


	16. All I Want for Christmas

**Lightdemondarkangel:** I'm glad you read it too! Killing people off is just plain mean, they don't deserve it…mostly. Thanks for R&R

**Wickedangel: **I'm sooooo relieved- I'm always worried about how to make a fight scene entertaining. Thaniks for R&R.

**NixiNox: **Thanks for reviewing. Sirius and Dawn are just good friends.

**Charmed-angel4:** look! A quick update! Aren't you proud? I can never kill anyone off, at least, not anyone who I've been writing as a good guy.

**Moonys Mate: **Great name! Thanks for R&R

**Tap Dancing Widow: **Thanks for the info on the shanshu xx

**Buffy- crazy about angel: **Sorry, I'm going to have to end it sooner later! I've got a something planned to follow it though. Thanks for R&R

**MaryAnn: **Thank you- it's a relief to know I pulled off something I'm not really comfortable doing!

**The lady Morgaine: **Sorry you didn't like the Voldy-shanshu thing. I never heard the full prophecy so I didn't know it was supposed to be someone who deserves it- which an evil wizard definitely doesn't! Thanks for R&R.

**Mae: **Does the squealing mean you liked it? I hope so! Thanks for reviewing!

**A/N:** The last full length chapter! Only a little epilogue to come which will follow shortly! That's to everyone who's still reading!

**CHAPTER 16: ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS…**

Most of the slayers had no injuries, or ones so minor that they'd rather let their slayer healing deal with them. Madam Pomfrey, when she realised that they weren't going to let her heal them, quickly tossed them out of her hospital wing.

Most of the wizards were there though, getting their injuries seen to and so as were twenty or so students that had been injured despite Willow's shield. Buffy was off with Madam Pomfrey having some tests done to make sure there was no lasting damage done by the rings as a precaution.

Dumbledore surveyed the scene before him feeling satisfied. They had beaten back Voldemort again, and who knows, they might get another decade of peace. He had already done the clean-up spells on the great hall and he couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised.

Although there were several bodies on the floor, only eleven belonged to the side of good and only two of those were children. It was a great loss, but when he thought about how bad things could have been had it not been for Willow's shield… One further body belonged to a member of the Order- Dennis Finnegan and he wished he didn't have such distressing news to break to Janice and Semus, but again when he looked on the grand scale of things if could have been worse. That left eight slayers dead. He had already informed Buffy and Giles, the latter saying he would contact any families they may have.

He saw McGonagall beckoning him through the door and went over. "Yes, Minerva?"

"The minister is here and He's not happy he wasn't informed. Also, that Skeeter woman has already been on the floo trying to get her scoop."

"Ah. Well bad news travels fast, I best go speak to Cornelius." Dumbledore said, scrunching up his nose as a six year old would when forced to do something he didn't want to do.

Harry saw Dumbledore leave out the corner of his eye, but his gaze was focused on two figures talking in hushed tones across the wing. Ron, who was talking to him, had noticed his friend's lack of attention, but had gone on talking anyway.

Sirius smiled at Dawn and nodded his head. "I suggest we go now before your son actually manages to bore a hole in my back with his eyes alone."

Dawn giggled and accepted his hand to help her to her feet. She noticed Harry's scowl deepen and Ron stopped talking as she and Sirius approached.

"Heya Ron. Are you alright?" Dawn said conversationally.

"Yeah fine." Ron said, already moving away from the bed and over to where his brothers were talking.

"Harry-"

"What does _he_ want?" Harry cut in.

Sirius stared at Harry. "He looks so much like him." He said hoarsely.

"I know." Dawn smiled.

"You knew my Dad?" Harry asked, forgetting he hated his man.

"Knew him? He was my best mate!"

"Harry, this is Sirius Black; your Godfather." Dawn introduced, feeling very nervous.

"Godfather? Then why didn't you…"

"Harry there's something you should know about Sirius…"

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Ron listened to his brothers' talk bored. Fred and George were teasing Percy again, but Bill and Charlie were the worst. They were all 'did you see that spell I cast' or 'I took on two at once'. Honestly the way they talked you'd think they were the ones who killed Voldemort or whatever Dawn had done to him.

The doors burst open and Molly Weasley burst through the doors, her husband not far behind her. She immediately spotted her six sons with their bright red hair and managed to engulf both Fred and George in a hug. Bill and Charlie dreaded what was about to come as she worked her way through Ron and Percy to hug them as well. As Bill was squeezed tightly by his mother, he noticed a girl sitting on Harry's bed about his age with reddish-brown hair grinning at the scene. When she'd noticed him looking back though, she turned back to Harry.

"Bill Weasley! How could you be so irresponsible! And you too Charles! Going off to fight without me or your father! I had to find out that you were in danger from the clock of all places!"

"But Mum…" Charlie started.

The girl was grinning again; he could see it out of the corner of his eye, but she stopped as a petite blond woman came out of Poppy's office. The brunette ran over to the blond.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, the worry evident in her voice.

Blondie smiled reassuringly. "Fine. But I still can't believe you would do something that would probably kill you! Honestly, Dawnie-"

"But it didn't kill me." 'Dawnie' pointed out. "Besides we didn't really have any other options Buffy."

"That's not the point!" 'Buffy' started. "You could have been killed…"

Now it was Bill's turn to grin as the embarrassed brunette girl got yelled at by the blond.

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"Ah, Cornelius; always a pleasure." Dumbledore said, smiling serenely.

"Albus, whatever happened here? Who are all those girls sitting outside?"

"I'm afraid we had a little problem." Dumbledore frowned. "Voldemort seemed to push up his plans and attacked the school last night."

"He attacked the school? Why wasn't I informed?"

"I'm informing you now…you will, of course, be glad to know that all but two of my students are alive." The headmaster informed him coolly.

Fudge gaped. "All alive? How on earth did you manage that?"

"Luckily we had a couple of hours advanced warning and managed to evacuate most of the students."

"Hours warning? Why wasn't the ministry informed of this?" Fudge fumed.

Dumbledore stayed calm and pretended to think over his actions. "You know, that thought never really occurred to me."

Fudge glared at the headmaster but didn't bother pushing the topic any further. "What happened?"

"The great hall was attacked whilst we were eating our evening meal." Dumbledore said evenly. "Those who were able fought the death eaters until Voldemort turned up. Then two members of my staff performed a spell, based on Wiccan magic if I assume correctly, and Voldemort was left severely weakened and departed."

Fudge nodded, suspecting that Dumbledore wasn't telling him the truth, but knowing that he didn't have the power to make him tell. "Very well, I wish to speak to those involved."

"You can speak to some of them on your way out. They're sitting on the entrance steps."

Fudge's eyes boggled out of his head. "Those teenage girls? Have you totally lost your mind? I can't believe you let them fight Voldemort; they'd be slaughtered within moments!"

"Yet they are standing outside my school three hours after the battle ended. Funny that."

"You allowed them to fight you-know-who? Are you mad!"

"I never said I wasn't! And they seemed to manage quite admirably!" Dumbledore said brightly, reaching for something on a shelf behind his desk. After a moment he pulled out a red tin triumphantly and offered it to the Minister. "Double-chocolate hobnob?"

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When Mrs. Weasley had stopped yelling and fussing over her sons', and it had taken a long time, she asked about Harry.

"He's over there, talking to his mum." Ron had answered.

"Ron; don't be silly. You-know-who killed Lily Potter ten years ago!" Molly Weasley had responded angrily.

"I know, but Dumbledore said these monks brought her back to life or something." Ron had tried to explain.

"Ronald; I will not tolerate this!" Mrs. Weasley had started, but her husband had hushed her.

"Wait, Molly. Look at her. After all the pictures we've seen of the Potters', I would know them anywhere…she's the spitting image."

"But Arthur, that girl isn't even twenty-five! And Lily Potter was killed ten years ago."

Mr. Weasley ignored his wife. "The hair's darker, and her face is a little different…but the eyes, look at the eyes Molly and how she is with Harry. If she isn't Lily Potter, then she's her twin."

Molly frowned, but looked at 'the girl' anyway. She had to admit that she did look uncannily like Lily Potter, and she ruffled Harry's hair (much to his disgust) just like the way she did with Ron.

"Mum, where are you going?" Ron asked panicked.

"Just to have a little chat." The mother-of-seven had said. "Hello, Harry. You're still standing, I see. I don't believe we've been introduced."

Dawn grinned at the woman's attempt at subtlety. "Dawn Summers. You're Ron's mother?"

"Yes, Molly Weasley. Dawn Summers, you say? Oh, so are you a relation of Harry's?" The woman pried a little further.

"She's my mum." Harry spoke up.

Both Dawn and Mrs. Weasley looked at him, Mrs. Weasley in surprise and Dawn in both surprise and pleasure. He had admitted to another person that they were mother and son. She never knew how good that would make her feel.

"M-Mother? But the curse! What-"

"I was brought back." Dawn said firmly. "Now I'm here to stay."

Mrs. Weasley nodded dumbly. "Of course. I'll just…go… away now."

She backed off slowly, her mind reeling. But her mind wasn't the only one; a ladybird flew down from the windowsill be Harry's bed, barely believing what she had just heard.

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Dumbledore looked around the people in his office. Professors Snape and McGonagall were there as were Buffy, Giles, Willow and Xander and Sirius Black, much to Snape's disgust. Faith and Andrew were recuperating by lazing about with the rest of the slayers. He cleared his throat to get everybody's attention. "Is everybody comfortable? Then I'll begin."

But he was interrupted by the door opening again.

"Did we miss anything?" Dawn said as she hurried through the door followed by Harry.

"Nope, not even stared." Buffy answered.

"Miss Summers, I'm not sure that it is the best idea for Harry to hear what it is we have to say." Dumbledore said.

"He wants to hear it and I don't have a problem with it. Scooch over." Dawn said to Xander who obliged so the duo could sit down.

Dumbledore cast a weary glance in Harry's direction before speaking again. "When I asked Miss Summers to come to Hogwarts, I had an ulterior motive. I knew of her being the key, and therefore knew a vessel had been used and I was able to limit the possibilities down to Lily Potter. However my research showed that there was a danger. There were, are, essentially two beings residing in one body. I would not be surprised to hear that you, Dawn, were having what felt like an inner conflict."

"I was." Dawn nodded. "Part of me felt like it was being trapped in a cage and couldn't get out."

"Yes, that would be it. But when this happens, there must be some sort of result, in other words, the human body is only built for one person, not two. I found that, well, the easiest way to explain it is for the personalities to internally combust which would be disastrous for the world."

"And you're telling us this now?" Buffy said angrily.

"Yes. I appreciate that you would have liked to be told sooner, but I wished to solve the problem."

"And have you?" Giles asked.

"I haven't no, but Miss Summers has, which explains her current appearance; she had become one with her inner vessel if you wish."

"How did I do that?"

"My only guess is that by some way willingly becoming the vessel for slayer and wizarding power, you accepted the vessel's soul into your life and into your body and that shows on the outside."

Dawn nodded, satisfied with this explanation. She would probably have some more questions for Dumbledore later, but that was enough for now. At least she knew why she looked different. She felt more at peace now. Before, even when she had accepted that Lily's body was her body she hadn't really thought about Lily's soul, she'd assumed that it was in heaven somewhere not locked deep inside of her waiting to get out. But now it was out it was like there was a huge burden off her shoulders.

She looked over to Harry who gave a half smiled back. He didn't seem to have any problems with this latest revelation and seemed to be taking it quite well, thank the goddess.

Dumbledore leaned back in his seat, pleased to see that everybody seemed to be happy with his explanation. "And now, may I ask what you know about Voldemort's rise? I have to admit that I do not know how it is possible, but you seem to have an idea."

Buffy looked over to Giles who nodded his encouragement. "There's a prophecy. We're a bit sketchy on the details; I only know what Angel told me. It's called the 'shanshu' and it says that the vampire with a soul will come back as a human."

"And you believe this shanshu happened to Voldemort?"

Buffy nodded. "I felt the soul on him when he came into the hall and he was definitely vampire and then human."

"We all thought the vampire was Angel." Giles revealed. "Or possibly Spike after he got his soul. But they've been gone for six years and no-one's heard anything from them. We can only assume that Voldemort was the creature referred to in the prophecy."

"It does seem that way." Dumbledore mused. "The transformation seems to have weakened him, much like ten years ago…"

"So what do we do now?" Harry spoke up.

"The Order of the Phoenix and the aurors will begin the search for Voldemort immediately. When he is found, we will do our best to capture him, but that may take many months or years. As for Hogwarts, it is only three weeks until Christmas. I have decided to move up the Christmas holidays as so many students are already home." Dumbledore smiled.

"What about me?" Harry asked in a small voice.

Dumbledore looked at Harry and Dawn's anxious faces. "I see no reason for you not going home with your mother, if that is what you both want."

Harry looked to Dawn hopefully for her answer. "You're welcome to stay with me, if you want. Can't he Giles?"

"Of course; as long as he doesn't mind sharing a house with twenty-five slayers."

"No, no, that's fine." Harry beamed.

Dawn squealed and clapped her hands together. Everything was coming together.

Snape growled something under his breath that was not meant to be heard by anyone, but he didn't account on standing just five metres from a slayer.

Buffy smiled sweetly at the potions master. "If I _ever_ hear you talk about my sister that way again, and believe me I will hear it, I will rip out your heart and feed it to you piece by piece, got it?"

Harry's eyes opened wide in a mix of shock and fear. Xander saw and tried to reassure the boy.

"Buffy takes a bit of getting used to." Dawn's one eyed friend explained. "She's all hurt so-and-so and I'll beat you over the head to death with a shovel. And blah, blah, blah I'll rip out your ribcage and wear it as a hat. But she hasn't actually done it yet- the threat seems to be enough in most cases."

Harry failed to look reassured. "Oh. Right then."

"What about me?" Sirius asked. "I'm still a wanted man, where am I supposed to go?"

"Wherever you want my boy, the aurors discovered the body of Peter Pettigrew not long after the battle ended, you're a free man."

"I'm free? Really free! Wahoo!" He jumped up into the air and was promptly hugged by Dawn who he swung round in a circle.

Harry stiffened as his mother hugged Sirius, but quickly relaxed.

"You can stay with us as long as you want." Dawn promised.

"Thanks…I can't believe I'm free at last!"

Sirius growled. "Bloody mutt."

"Same to you Snivellus!" Nothing could bring his mood down.

"Pillock."

"Ponce." Sirius retorted brightly,

"Tosser."

"Greasy Git." He smiled nostalgically. "Oh, Snivellus; how I've missed this."

Dumbledore cleared his throat drawing the attention back to himself. "May I suggest that you…round up the young ladies? The house elves have prepared enough rooms for everyone to stay in and there are still a few hours until dawn so they may feel the benefit of some sleep."

"I think we all could." Buffy said looking around the room. She knew that Faith and herself would be okay, but everybody else was running on adrenaline and would regret it the next day if they didn't get a couple of hours rest; poor Harry was practically falling asleep where he sat!

Dumbledore nodded. "Very well. Then I shall bid you goodnight and head for my own quarters. An old man such as myself needs his beauty sleep. Sweet dreams."

"Not much chance of that." Xander muttered, the memory of what had happened just six hours ago still painfully fresh in his mind.

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The next morning, which was less than two hours away really, Dawn was taking a break, relishing the peace as she watched the sun rise higher over the Forbidden Forest. The slayers had stayed up until the early hours of the morning talking so they were taking a much needed lay-in. They weren't used to the standard apocalypse hours when you got by on ninety minutes sleep a night. That meant that it was just order members, Scoobies and some of the parents of students hanging about, all of whom knew some version of the truth and most of whom were staring at Dawn.

She heard the footsteps a mile off. That meant it wasn't Buffy, Faith or any other slayers. It couldn't be Willow either, the steps were too heavy. That left Giles and Xander- probably Xander.

When the footsteps were right up to her they stopped and someone spoke; someone who was definitely not Giles or Xander. "Taking a break?"

Dawn turned around in surprise to see a red haired man standing behind her. "Err yeah."

"Mind if I join you?" He smiled.

That's when she knew it was a Weasley- Ron and the twins had the same goofy grin. "Sure. Which one are you then?"

"Excuse me?"

"Bill or Charlie? I already know your not Ron, Fred, George or Percy and I'm ninety percent sure you're a Weasley."

"Oh, I'm Bill. What's it like teaching my brothers then? I don't envy you that job!"

Dawn laughed. "I've heard the twins can be a bit of a handful."

"But they're not for you?"

"Well, they know I can kick their identical asses from here to Japan."

Bill eyed the rather petite girl in front of him, half wary and half disbelievingly.. "Oh."

"So, what are you escaping from, Bill?"

"Huh?"

"Well I'm out here escaping from the looks and the whispers, what about you?"

Bill blushed. "My mother." He mumbled. "She's rather…agitated that Charlie and I joined in the fight and I have a rather short temper…"

"Ah say no more, I'm the same with my sister."

"And I expect you'll be the same with Harry in ten years." Bill grinned.

Dawn sighed. "Maybe. It might be a bit late for all that, eleven years too late."

"Nah. It's never too late."

"You reckon?"

"Course not. From what I hear, you didn't really have many options about before, but now you do and you're doing what's right."

Dawn grinned. "Oh yeah? Remind me of that when puberty kicks in and I've got a grumpy teenager in my house who hates my guts."

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By the afternoon, most people had gone. The parents had wanted their children safe at home with them, the Order members had wanted to get back to their families as soon as possible and Giles had taken the slayers back to the centre. Buffy, Xander, Willow, Faith and Andrew were heading back to Cleveland in the evening and Dawn was staying with Harry to see them off.

Some of the Weasley's were still at Hogwarts. Ron had wanted to speak to Harry, and Molly Weasley had wanted to speak to Dawn a bit more so didn't object. The twins, Percy, Charlie and Mr. Weasley had all returned to the burrow, but, surprisingly, Bill had wanted to stay.

Most of the teachers had left too. Snape had been the first to go; he couldn't wait to get away from the American muggles. Dumbledore and McGonagall were the only ones left and they would wait until last to leave.

Everyone was milling about in the staff common room. No-one had really wanted to have afternoon tea in the Great Hall; the carnage and bodies may have been cleared, but the memories of what had happened were still fresh in everyone's minds.

Buffy, Willow, Xander and Dawn were talking in one corner about Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were talking to Molly Weasley and her oldest son and Harry and Ron were standing by the desert trolley. An owl flew in through the open window and dropped a rolled up bundle into Dumbledore's hands. When he saw what it was, he excused himself from the group and opened it.

It was a special edition of the Daily Prophet. He unrolled the paper and sighed when he saw the front page. There was a big headline that read 'Voldemort Defeated' and a picture of some aurors taking death eaters out of Hogwarts main entrance. He shook his head sadly. Once again the wizarding community were being given false hope. Voldemort was not defeated, just prevented and the aged headmaster was willing to bet that he would be back. He hoped that people would be a little more accepting of that fact than they were ten years ago when he'd claimed that Voldemort wasn't gone forever, but he doubted that very much.

He opened the paper. The first page was an article by Fudge about how the Ministry worked very hard for this day and other such codswallop. He turned the page again. He read the headline. He reread the headline. How had they known about that? He looked down to where the reporters name was written; Rita Skeeter, of course.

"Is something wrong, professor?" Dawn asked. She had seen him reading the paper and his downcast look so she had gone to investigate.

"In a way, yes." Dumbledore said, handing over the paper.

Dawn's eyes opened wide when she saw what was written, she seemed surprised but not upset. "So they know about me? At least they aren't denying it. I was expecting a battle for them to believe me, but they seem to accept it don't they? At least it's out in the open."

Truth be told, she was quite relieved that everyone would know. Sure some people wouldn't believe her, but the worst bit was over with without her even knowing it was happening, she hadn't had to tell anyone what had happened, they had just known.

"Do you want to tell Harry?" Dumbledore asked gently.

Dawn looked over to where he was laughing with Ron. "Not yet. I'll tell him later."

Dumbledore nodded. "Very well. Now I believe we have some celebrating to do!" He said as he disappeared over to where McGonagall was talking with Bill.

Dawn looked around, and grinned as she spotted a familiar face. "So that's where you've been, tarting yourself up!" She said taking in Sirius' neat appearance. He looked much better than when she last saw him, he was now wearing clean clothes, with a stylish haircut and completely stubble free.

The newly shaven Sirius flushed almost guiltily. "Err yes, that's exactly where I've been." He said before hurrying off. Dawn looked after him confused; he was acting even weirder than usual.

"D-Dawn?" A voice called hesitantly from behind her.

She turned around. "Yes Mrs. Weasley?"

"Molly; I was wondering if you'd like too have a little chat?" The older woman said only slightly more boldly.

"Curiosity got the better of you then." Dawn said, grinning at the woman's sheepish smile. "There's not much to tell really. A group of monk's were playing with some power they shouldn't be and I came back totally clueless about what had happened or who I was. They tried to cover up their actions by giving me fake memories and sending me to a new family." Dawn said, giving the cover story that had been agreed upon and which Dumbledore would give to the newspapers the next day. "I recently started remembering things about my old life, but it didn't make sense until I came to Hogwarts."

Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Muggles messing with power is always a bad sign," she said knowledgeably.

"I'll second that!" Faith agreed as she walked past them on her way into the room.

"Where've you been?" Dawn asked surprised and a little guilty, she hadn't even noticed the second-oldest-slayer wasn't there.

They were interrupted by Dumbledore clinking his glass. "Excuse me, but I believe we should take a moment to reflect on all those who can not be with us today. Wizards and witches that Voldemort has killed; not just in the final stage, but in the last thirty years. For the slayers who fell in yesterday's battle and for those who have been left behind. They will not be forgotten and their sacrifice will not be in vain;" he raised his glass in a toast. "For those we have lost."

Twelve glasses joined his in the air, each remembering the tremendous sacrifices made by their family, friends and even people they barely knew. "For those we have lost."

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"See ya soon, Dawnie." Buffy said hugging her sister. "And this time stay in contact; I don't want to hear when everything goes wrong from Giles."

"I will and I'm sorry. Love you."

"Love you too, don't be a stranger…" Buffy hugged Dawn again and ducked through the fireplace that Xander had just vacated.

Dawn waved as her sister disappeared and then turned back to the other occupants in the room. "Who's next?"

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said their goodbyes, Mrs. Weasley hugging Dawn, Sirius and Harry while Mr. Weasley settled for a handshake. They thanked Professor Dumbledore and ducked through the flames, instructing Ron to follow them straight away and for Bill to follow.

Ron tossed a quick wave to Harry. "See you in January, Mate. Bye Professor." And then he too was gone.

Bill turned to Professor Dumbledore and shook his hand. "Nice seeing you again sir."

"You too my boy. Good luck in Egypt."

Bill moved over to Harry and clapped him on the shoulder. "Look after yourself Harry." He went to Dawn and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. "Nice meeting you."

"You too." Dawn said irritated by how breathy her voice had become. "Bye."

Bill grinned and stepped into the fire leaving the rest behind him.

"Bye, Billius, I looove you!" Sirius mimicked from behind Harry.

Harry sniggered, once he'd gotten to know Sirius he'd really liked him and Sirius had assured him that the feeling was mutual.

Dawn however wasn't as amused. "Do you _want_ to stay with us?"

Sirius gave her his best puppy dog eyes. But she'd seen those eyes a million times before so they didn't have the desired effects. "I'm sorry, I'll be good."

"You better be Padfoot." Dawn muttered, but with a smile twitching at her lips.

"Of course."

Dumbledore smiled at the interaction. He'd seen similar routines between the two all those years ago and for an instant it seemed like nothing had changed. "Are you ready?"

Dawn nodded. "Sirius' going back first, me and Harry have something we need to do."

"We do?" Harry questioned. This was the first he'd heard about it.

"Yup." Dawn said.

"What?"

"You'll see…" She grinned mysteriously.

"Whatever, see you at home Tigerlily." Sirius said anxiously glancing at Dawn to see her reaction to her old nickname, but she didn't seem to mind.

"So where are we going?" Harry asked impatiently after Sirius flooed away.

"Diagon Alley." Dawn said. "Just step in and say Diagon Alley clearly and it'll whisk you away."

Harry nodded and stepped into the fireplace. He dropped his green power into the grate. "Diagon Alley."

The fire flashed green and Harry disappeared. Dawn made a move to follow him.

"Miss Summers, I trust you will be returning next term?"

"I, well, I suppose so."

"Marvellous. I'm sure I speak for all of the staff when I say we'd be delighted to have you. You've done so well this term, my dear."

"Thank you, sir." Dawn said taking the headmasters outstretched hand and then disappearing into the fire.

Dumbledore turned to Professor McGonagall. "I told you this would be an exciting term!"

McGonagall just smiled indulgently.

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Harry looked around Diagon Alley remembering Hagrid showing him around four months ago. Four months! It seemed like so much longer! Everything had been so new then, now he felt like he'd seen too much of the wizarding world. He'd seen more death and violence in the last week alone than he'd ever witnessed in the muggle world. But, he realised as he looked to the woman walking next to him, he wouldn't change it for anything.

"We're here." Dawn announced, climbing up some marble steps.

"Gringrotts? I've been here before."

"Trust me."

Harry followed his mother (he loved how that sounded) over to one of the clerks and watched her ask to be taken to a vault.

They hopped into one of the carts and took a strong grip. "I hate those things." Dawn muttered as the 'ride' came to an end.

The goblin opened the vault they had stopped by and Harry looked in interest, but it was fairly plain- furniture and boxes mainly.

Dawn looked around with tears in her eyes. "It's our old vault. When a witch or wizard dies all their belongings are transferred to their vault until a family member wants to collect them. Dumbledore gave me the key this morning." She explained.

Harry looked around the vault. There was no money as that had all been transferred to him as per his parents will, but many of their possessions were there.

Dawn was pottering about the vault looking at what was there. "Dumbledore said that most of it was blown up or damaged beyond repair." She gasped and ran across the other side. "Oh my God, your crib!"

Harry looked over at the slightly charred baby's cot. He'd known that his mother had put him in there to try and protect him. The whole situation was making him feel a little uncomfortable.

Dawn shook herself. She'd made arrangements to come back to the vault with Sirius in the holidays to clear it out; she didn't really want Harry to see what was left of his parents possessions, not like this.

"Where is it?" She muttered, searching through the piles of memories. A velvet bag caught her eye so she opened it. She felt the tears come to her eyes as she saw what was there. A thought came to her so she took one of the three objects out for Harry and quickly pocketed the other two. A few minutes later she held up a smallish wooden box triumphantly. "Aha!"

Harry watched curiously as Dawn picked her way through from the back of the vault so he was next to him. She handed the box to him.

Dawn watched him examine the design on the top. "James made it for you before he…" She trailed off, but forcefully pulled herself together. "He did it all himself, the muggle way."

Harry traced a finger over the carvings on the top. It was quite small, about eight inches at its longest, but his name was carved on and surrounded by a pattern of swirls. In one corner there was a flower- a lily and in the other a crest of some sort.

"That's the Potter family crest." Dawn said as if reading his mind. "Open it."

Harry did so. In a corner of the box was something sparkling. He lifted it out and in the dim light recognised it as a necklace of sorts. It was a long silver chain with a couple of pendants hanging from the bottom. One of them was obviously a wedding ring; the other was a smallish silver disc with the same crest as on the box.

"I just put that in." Dawn admitted. "He wore it all the time, he would have wanted you to have it…you can take the ring off if you want."

"Thank you." Harry chocked out. He'd never had anything of his parents before.

"No worries, think of it as an early Christmas present."

"I don't have anything for you."

Dawn smiled. "Yes you do." She wondered if it would ruin the moment to burst into a rousing chorus of Mariah Carey's 'All I want for Christmas', and decided it would be best for her to keep very quiet.

"Come on, let's go."

They left the vault behind and went up to the winter sunshine.

"What are you humming?" Harry asked suddenly.

Dawn stopped humming, she hadn't even realised she was doing it. Damn Christmas songs that get stuck in your head! "Nothing," she lied.

"Yes you were I heard you."

"Okay so maybe I was, but believe me when I say you don't want to know."

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Wow! Long chapter- my hand hurts!

'**MISSING SCENE':** If anyone is interested in reading an extra story set between Faith and Sirius during the party, then it can be found under the title '_Just Connect' _ (**rated 'R'** or whatever the equivalent is now, so please don't look if you're not old enough or don't like that sort of thing)

_EPILOGUE _(Happily Ever After?)_ TO FOLLOW SHORTLY_

PLEASE REVIEW!


	17. Happily Ever After?

**Thank You reviewers!**

**Lightdemon dark angel: **Thanks for R&R. I've started work on a new story, but it won't be posted for a while.

**Buffy- Crazy about Angel:** See A/N at the end for info about a sort-of-sequal. Thanks for R&R.

**Charmed angel4: **Thanks for reading and reviewing throughout the story. I hope you go on to read and enjoy the sequel-type thing I've done.

**Moony's Mate:** Glad you liked. Thanks for R&R.

**The Lady Morgaine:** The info on the shanshu was appreciated, really! More about the past will be revealed in the sequel-tyoe thing I've done. Thanks for R&R.

**Keren Ziv:** Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you liked all the bits you quoted- I'd forgotten about a lot of them and it was cool to 'relive' them! Hope you like the epilogue.

**Mary Ann:** Happy endings are good! Thanks for R&R.

**Nixinox:** There's a note on the end that details the sequel-type thing at the end of the chapter. Thanks for R&R

**A/N:** This is it! The final chapter! Thanks to all the readers and reviewers who've stuck with me through this fic and a MASSIVE thanks to my beta Matt, I couldn't have done it without you!

**EPILOGUE: HAPPILY EVER AFTER?**

**_EIGHT MONTHS LATER_**

Thwack! Another demon was cut down. They were all out fighting, every last slayer from Giles' centre and that could only mean one thing; it was time for the annual demons convention aka the yearly apocalypse. They'd been fighting for hours, but had had even fewer casualties than last year's giant, fluffy mouse incident.

Dawn hacked through another slime demon. Dumbledore had decided that as there was no exam in her subject, it would be best to suspend it's teaching until the new term to allow students to focus on their studies. And she and Harry had decided that it would be best for both of them if she commuted to Hogwarts each day that she was actually teaching via floo; that way she could still help out around the slaying centre and Harry wouldn't feel too crowded by his mother constantly being at his school.

Giles fought his way across the fray to Dawn; it wasn't that difficult since they were mainly getting rid of pretty useless minions now. "Shouldn't you be going now?"

Dawn groaned. "Oh God, I totally forgot, what's the time?"

"A quarter to, doesn't the train arrive at three?" Giles asked referring to the Hogwarts Express that was bringing all the Hogwarts students home on their summer holidays.

"Yes, shit." Dawn swore. "I've got to get to a floo port, will you be okay here?"

"Of course." Giles said surveying the situation.

And she was gone. She ran all the way back to the centre and into the kitchen. She hurriedly flooed to the Leaky Cauldron (where she received some odd looks regarding her 'Scooby war clothes' and the sword strapped to her back) and hopped in the first taxi she saw.

She arrived at the station with two minutes to spare and dashed over to where the Weasley's were standing.

"Hi." She panted.

"Hello dear, not on the train then?"

"No, my class stopped for the exams and I had a little situation to deal with at home." Dawn tried to straighten her shirt, thanking the heavens that the colour mostly camouflaged the blood staining through.

"They're here!" A voice called out.

The children stated milling out of the pillar, Dawn was amazed no-one saw them, and went to their parents. Ten minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were just missing one child; Ron.

"Are you sure he got on the train?" Mrs. Weasley fretted anxiously.

"Positive, mum." Her sons replied.

Dawn's attention was drawn by a scuffle. Two boys fell through the barrier, another following them soon after.

"Oh no." Dawn groaned, spotting flashes of platinum blond and dark brown hair. She went over and pulled the boys apart and was immediately joined by a man who had to be Draco's father.

"Draco…" he sort-of-greeted "and this must be Harry Potter. I've heard so much about you, and, of course, your mother." He said disdainfully.

"Good afternoon." Dawn said in her best business like tone.

Lucius Malfoy raised one eyebrow and ran his eyes over her attire- the blood stained red shirt with a slash across the midriff and skin tight leather trousers covering black heeled boots were a stark contrast to his neat as a pin black robe-like coat and trousers that screamed designer. "I assume that your…son will be appropriately punished for his actions."

"Of course he will." Dawn assured cheerfully before turning to her son. "Harry, that was utterly disgraceful…your right hook was totally off!"

"What? But-"

"Come on Harry." Dawn interrupted, praying to every one of Willow's Goddesses that Malfoy senior wouldn't use his wand in public.

Luckily for them he didn't and when they got a safe distance away, they were joined by the Weasley's.

Mrs. Weasley immediately smacked Ron around the head. "What in Merlin's name was that all about?"

"What did he do this time?" Dawn asked with a grin.

"He said some stuff." Harry admitted. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine…but there's gonna be a big talk at home." She hissed.

Harry sighed, dimly registering Mrs. Weasley screeching in the background and realising he'd got off lightly. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now, do you want to say good bye to your friends?"

Harry nodded and went over to Ron, thankful that Mrs. Wesley had stopped screaming.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered. "I wasn't even fighting and look at what she did."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Never apologise for that…" George said as he approached his little brother and his friend.

"Not ever." Fred confirmed.

"He deserved it." George said.

"And your mother…"

"…was absolutely fabulous!" George finished.

"Err thanks." Harry said uncertainly.

"They're right; your mum isn't like other peoples." He said, casting a look to where his mismatched parents, dressed in as many muggle clothes as they could find talked to Dawn.

"Honestly those boys…" The mother of seven muttered.

Dawn grinned. "Boys will be boys. I'm just glad they're not raising demons or plotting to take-over the world."

The Weasley's gave her a strange look, but pushed the topic no further. "It would be nice if the boys could see each other in the holidays, we'd be more than happy to put Harry up for a few days." Mrs. Weasley suggested.

"And I'm sure we could squeeze Ron in if that's what they want." Dawn agreed.

Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Just send a note with Hedwig."

Mr. Weasley suddenly looked delighted. "You could ring us on the fellytone!"

"Arthur…" his wife growled warningly.

But Dawn just laughed. "Sure, hang on a sec and I'll give you our number…"

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"HELLO?" A voice hollered down the phone.

"Yes?" Harry answered back.

"Hello? Harry is that you? I can't seem to get the hang of this fellytone!"

"Yes, this is Harry." He said curious. He hadn't given out the number to anyone.

"It's Arthur Weasley here, Ron's dad."

"Oh, hello." Harry replied surprised.

"Is your mother there?"

"No she's patrolling, would you like me to get her to ring you back?" Harry offered as there was an enormous clatter from downstairs signalling the slayers arrival.

"Ring me back?" Mr. Weasley said, very confused.

"Never mind, she's here now. I'll just get her." Harry took the phone away from his ear. "Dawn! Phone!"

She approached him and took the phone. He nearly always called her Dawn; it felt weird if he called her 'mum' in general conversation. But he called her mum when they were alone and Dawn could deal with that.

"It's Mr. Weasley." Harry said, not moving from the hall. He wanted to hear this.

But Dawn had other ideas. "Shoo…now! Hello?"

"Hello? Dawn?" A puzzled voice called.

"I'm here, Mr. Weasley. I assume you're calling about the boys' summer plans?"

"It's Arthur and yes. We wondered if Harry would like to spend the last week of the holidays at the burrow."

"I'm sure he'd love to."

Harry had sidled back up to Dawn and slid a note in front of her.

'Can he stay here next week? Please!'

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Mr- Arthur, would Ron like to stay here next week? Hermione's coming to visit on Wednesday so…"

"Yes, that sounds…" The phone started beeping. "What's it doing?" He panicked. "What's it doing? Make it stop!"

Dawn bit her lip to stop from laughing. "Maybe it would be easier if we owled you..."

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The door knocker of the slaying centre rapped loudly.

Harry hurried to the door dressed in some of his new clothes that actually fit! As much as he liked his extensive new wardrobe, he wasn't sure that it was worth the two day shopping trip he'd been dragged on with Dawn. He still flinched when he thought about _that_ day.

But someone got there first. Actually three someones, all of whom were slayers.

"No!"

But it was too late and they opened the door. And that's when Ron Weasley and his oldest brother came face-to-face with the sharp end of a sword.

"Let them go!" Harry shouted annoyed.

The slayers ignored him. "Who are you?"

But there came a voice they couldn't ignore. "Becky! Linda! Johanna! What are you doing! How many times do I have to tell you; _do not attack everyone who comes to the door!_"

Harry had never been so glad to see his mother. The three slayers had the decency to blush and lower their swords.

"Sorry about that." Dawn said, shooting a harsh glare at the slayers. "Come in. Heya Ron, hi Bill."

She'd seen Bill several times since Christmas. Whenever she took Harry to visit Ron for example, or last parent teacher night at Hogwarts when Bill had accompanied his parents, it seemed that Bill was very interested in his brother's academic achievement, although he didn't bother with any of the other subjects nearly as much and spent the whole evening in the Practical Defence classroom.

"Come on, Ron. See ya later, Bill." Harry said running up the stairs to his 'sanctuary'. Living with almost all girls who were a good few years older than him meant that he spent a lot of time in his room.

Dawn smiled at Bill. "Your rooms on the top floor like the rest of us mere mortals. The slayers tend to be out late and there's less chance of them disturbing us."

Bill returned the smile. "Are you sure it's okay for me to stay, I can always floo back."

"It's fine. I'll show you your room."

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The telephone rang.

Ron jumped out of his seat in alarm. "What's that?"

"Relax Ron, it's just the phone." Harry laughed.

"Sirius! It's for yoooooou!" Dawn's voice called from the hallway.

"Who is it?" He called back.

"Umm Sasha or something."

Sirius frowned. "Tell her I'm not here."

They heard Dawn relaying the message down the phone. "He said he's not here…I know…hey, don't shoot the messenger…okay I'll tell him, bye." Dawn looked in through the door of the sitting room. "She's says you're a bastard man-whore."

"Thank you, Lils." Sirius grinned, pleased with himself. He'd soon gotten back into 'the game' after being officially declared a free man- all it had taken was a new wardrobe, a haircut and a wash for him to start feeling enough like himself again to start chasing girls.

"So what have you guys got planned for this weekend?" Sirius asked lolling back in one of the armchairs.

They looked at each other. "Nothing really."

Hermione, who had arrived that day after Ron, suddenly looked excited. "There's a museum near here."

"No!" Ron protested. "This is the holidays."

Hermione glared at him. "I know that Ron. Museums are fun!"

"Hey, hey, hey." Sirius interrupted. He'd seen them argue before and didn't want to see it again. "There's not that much to do during the day."

"I thought I might show Ron a muggle film."

Sirius nodded. "Why not. You should go to that fun park down the road. It's only here for the week then it moves on."

"But it doesn't open till after dark. Dawn would never let us go."

Sirius grinned. "What she doesn't know can't hurt us. Nah, she's probably right actually. Safety rules and what not. Have fun at the museum."

The three friends grinned and looked to each other as Sirius got up and sauntered into the kitchen. They were going to that fair.

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When Dawn heard the slayers come home she went to greet them. "Hey guys, kill any…" She trailed off at what she saw.

The group of slayers were fine. No visible injuries and they seemed fairly fresh. What caught her attention were the three children being pushed forward.

"What are…when did…why aren't you upstairs?"

"We went for a walk?" Ron tried.

"After dark and on your own? Ohmigod, are you okay?" She said checking them over for obvious injuries.

"We found them being chased through Cashen Cemetery, three vamps were almost on them. What were they doing out on their own anyway?" Jen, one of the older slayers, said.

"I have no idea." Dawn said, her worry quickly replaced by anger. "But I'm going to find out."

The three pre-teens were seated on the chair in the entrance hall. "We didn't mean to run into vampires." Harry said quickly when he saw Dawn approach.

"Oh that's alright then, as long as you didn't mean to nearly get yourselves killed! What were you thinking; you should know better than this! How many times have I told you, Harry, don't go out after dark alone, especially not in cemeteries!"

"I know, I'm sorry. But Sirius said…" Harry started, but trailed off.

Dawn put her hands on her hips in her best 'in charge' pose. "Oh? What did Sirius say?"

The three friends looked to each other. How were they gonna talk their way out of this one?

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"PADFOOT!" Dawn's voice echoed through the halls.

Sirius winced. She was definitely on the warpath. "Heya Tigerlily!" He said brightly when she entered the lounge.

Dawn growled. "Don't call me that."

Sirius turned on his puppy dog eyes. "It's a sign of affection."

Dawn smiled sweetly, but her voice had a dangerous edge. "It's patronising and it makes me want to rip your throat out."

But Sirius was not put off. "Aww, love you too… Tigerlily!"

"Don't think you can change the subject. I know it was you!"

Sirius smirked. "Prove it."

"I don't need to." Dawn went over and slapped him across the right cheek.

"Hell Dawn! What was that for?" He noticed her eyes blazing and knew he was in for it.

"Don't you ever put him in danger again. If he got hurt I'd never forgive you."

"What?" He flashed over all the conversations he'd ever had with Harry, wondering what he'd done wrong. "What happened?"

"They snuck out to go to the fair." She said through gritted teeth.

"Oh God, Dawnie, I'm so sorry. I never meant…he wasn't supposed to take that seriously. What did he do? Is he okay?"

"He snuck out with Ron and Hermione." She collapsed onto the sofa. "Jen and a few other slayers caught them when they were running away from a couple of vamps and brought them back."

"I'm so sorry." Sirius said sincerely.

Dawn didn't say anything for a while. "It's not completely your fault. He doesn't understand how dangerous it is, it was only a matter of time before he snuck out. I don't know what I'd do if anything had happened to him, Padfoot. When is he going to learn that he's a target in this town?"

"I know I am." Harry spoke up from the doorway where he'd been listening in.

"Then why did you sneak out if you know how dangerous it is?"

Harry shrugged uncomfortably. "I guess being chased through a graveyard by three vampires kinda struck it home."

"Yeah it would. But you're still grounded. For two weeks. And no going out after dark until your fifty." She added for good measure.

Harry frowned. "So I guess it would be pointless to ask if I could take Ron and Hermione to the cinema tonight?"

Dawn tried to look stern, but ended up rolling her eyes. "A chaperoned trip won't hurt. I'll see if Bill wants to come."

Harry raised one eyebrow, but decided not to push his luck. "Thank you."

He scampered off leaving the former classmates together.

"So you and Bill, eh?" Sirius said smirking wildly.

"We're escorting the kids to the pictures!"

Sirius patted her on the knee comfortingly. "Sure you are…"

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"Well that was crap." Dawn said as they left the cinema.

"I thought it was okay." Harry said.

"Are you kidding me? A haunted house with a little kid peeking out from the banisters- scary? No way."

"You didn't think it was scary? Then why were you clinging onto Bill for dear life?" Harry smirked.

"I, well, there were a couple of points that made me jump."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, yeah."

She glared him into silence. "Who's for ice cream?"

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"As much as I hate to admit it, you were right." Sirius said to Dawn when they arrived home.

"Never doubted it for a minute…about what?"

"That marshmallows will explode if you put them in the microwave for too long."

"Oh that, told you so! Wait a sec, how did you find that out?" Dawn felt the cold dread well up inside of her. Surely he wouldn't have…

"Err…" Sirius pointed to the kitchen. "I'm going out- see you all later."

He dashed out the door before anyone could stop him. Bill, Ron, Harry and Hermione watched Dawn run into the kitchen and winced at her shriek.

"I'm gonna kill him!"

Harry looked worried. "Let's get out of here."

"Don't you think we should help?" Hermione asked.

"No way- she's already handing out death threats; we defiantly don't want to be here." The three friends ran up the stairs to safety.

Bill took a deep breath and headed into the kitchen.

"Merlin!" He swore. How much marshmallow had Sirius blown up? It covered the walls and a good portion of the ceiling was coated in the slimy goop as well.

Dawn looked round at him. "You can say that again. I better clean this up before Giles gets back with the slayers or he'll slaughter me."

"Do you want a hand?"

"Do you know any cleaning spells?" She asked hopefully.

"Well, no. Or not for this. But I don't mind helping the muggle way." He offered.

"Are you sure you don't mind- you are a guest and it's not your fault that Sirius is an incompetent ass."

"I'm sure. Where do we start?"

Half-an-hour later there still seemed to be no end to the sticky mess.

"Maybe we should ask Hermione to help us." Dawn suggested reluctantly.

"You want to ask your son's friend for help, besides we've nearly finished that wall over there."

"True, true." Not that she minded spending more time with Bill.

"I think we're almost finished." Dawn said three hours later.

They probably would have got it done a lot quicker had they not been talking so much, but it was done and that was all that mattered.

"It's just that gloop on the high bit of the ceiling; I couldn't reach it on the chair." She continued.

"Here, let me help." Bill walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her body lifting her to the part of the ceiling that was, for some reason, higher than the rest.

'Breath, Dawn, Breath.' She instructed herself as she mopped up the last of the marshmallow.

"There, done!"

Bill lowered her down so that they were facing on another. She chewed on her lip (one of Lily's old habits) as he tilted her head upwards so that their lips were almost touching and-

"We're ho-ome!"

They broke apart abruptly. "Hey guys."

"What's going on in here?" One of the slayers asked with a big smirk on her face.

"Err, Sirius blew up the microwave." Dawn covered, pointing to the blackened plastic.

"Marvellous." She said sarcastically.

Harry and Ron drew back from the banister where they had been watching the scene unfold after Hermione had gone to bed.

"Your mum and my brother- that's so weird."

"I know- do you mind?"

"Nah- you?"

Harry thought about it for a minute, remembering the fuss he'd made about the kissing Sirius thing. "No, I don't mind. You wanna go back to the room?"

They left the chatting slayers and their family to their conversations in favour of the mountain of chocolate frogs Ron had brought with him.

Dawn listened indulgently as one of the newer slayer spoke excitedly of how her and three friends had taken out a nest of vamps without getting a scratch on them.

"…And then one tried to run away so I threw my stake after him and hit him as he ran away! It was sooo cool!"

She smiled. "Nice job, Annie."

She felt his gaze on her and turned to meet it with a smile.

Sure nothing had happened just then, but Bill was staying for the rest of the week and tomorrow was another day.

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THE END!

I know it was late, so as a peace offering the first mini from the SEQUAL is already up. It's telling the story of the 'key moments' in the verse that didn't fit into this story. Title: 'Uncertain Future'. Rating: PG13. Go read & then review!

Thanks for reading!


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